Broken and Bitter
by Raegarch
Summary: Jason Todd was brutally murdered February 24, 2013. The Red Hood appeared December 28, 2016. Now the Team must track down this elusive killer of criminals, as a clock slowly counts down to the eve of that first tragedy, and with it, the Red Hood's ultimate endgame. M for violence and swearing.
1. A Deadly Introduction

**How much does it take for someone to shatter?**  
 **To break into a thousand tiny pieces?**  
 **To become nothing but fragments?**  
 **How much does it take to glue them back together?**  
 **And if the fragments somehow reforge...**  
 **Would you even be the same?**  
 **Would you want to be?**

 **Gotham Warehouse**  
 **December 28, 6:08, 2016**  
He stared down the barrel of the gun, able to see every groove and scar on the metal surface. The weapon was steady, held in a hand used to the weight... _practiced_. It almost terrified him, the thought that the man behind the gun had done this so much, so often, that he was used to it. Almost. But he was Robin. And Robin didn't fear.

The man behind the gun held it so close to Robin that he couldn't make out his face, but he noted the combat boots, the leather jacket, the armored pants and torso. What little could be seen of the man's posture was smug, cocky, arrogant, but there was an undertone of danger to him. Almost like insanity.

The rest of the Team was frozen, staring in horror at the gun, and the finger tensed and ready on the trigger. A single wrong move, and Robin's brains would be blown out. Tigress had her crossbow pointed at the man with the gun, Aqualad had his Water-Bearers out and shaped into blades, Kid Flash was tense and ready to attack, Blue Beetle had his hands formed into cannons, and Wonder Girl looked like she was about to snap someone in half.

"So, anybody gonna ask who I am? That is standard protocol, isn't it?" The man's voice was disguised and mechanical, leading Robin to assume his entire face was covered. His speech was light and casual, as though he wasn't in the middle of a tense standoff.

"Very well. Who are you?" Aqualad questioned, voice tight, not dropping out of his tense stance.

"Forgot how fucking formal you were Water-boy! But, to answer, I'm the Red Hood. Not terribly original, but it felt fitting, all things considered." He laughed as he spoke, and Robin tensed even more. He knew the name. Joker's former moniker, before a chemical bath bleached his skin and gave him a bloody smile. But more importantly, Robin had deduced at least two things from this new Red Hood's reply; He had a connection to the Joker, and he somehow knew Aqualad. Not much to go on, but it was still something.

"Let Robin go." Aqualad's voice was menacing, but Red Hood didn't seem phased at all. In fact, he chuckled.

"Why the hell would I do that? The minute the gun is gone, you'll all put me into a fucking casket...again." As though to prove his point, Red Hood moved the gun to the right, but quickly placed a long knife at Robin's throat. Kid Flash had moved right next to the criminal, but the gun that had previously held Robin hostage halted Kid's advance. Robin was finally able to see all of his captor, and was surprised. The man didn't really seem to be a man at all. In fact, he seemed to be a teenager like them, his frame lithe but muscled, though slightly bulked out by the thick leather of the jacket and assumably armor beneath. Covering his face was a smooth and glossy red helmet with white lenses over the eyes, incrutable and impassable.

"See, proved my point." The situation was escalating quickly. Not even a speedster like Kid Flash could avoid a bullet when the gun was pressed to his forehead, and all Red Hood had to do was spin and Robin's throat would be cut.

"Weapons down kiddies, or you'll have quite a mess to clean up. And trust me, you don't want to hold someone's throat closed while they bleed out in your arms." To accentuate his point, Red Hood dug the knife into Robin's throat, drawing a small trickle of blood. Beetle's hands quickly shifted back to normal, Tigress dropped her crossbow, and Aqualad's blades fell.

"There, isn't that better? Now we can all talk civilly, like the super-powered assholes we all are!" Tigress ground her teeth together, clearly holding back a biting insult, and Red Hood noticed. Noticed, and decided to goad her even more.

"Oh, what's the matter, 'Mis? Missing a certain someone? Being reminded, seeing the same costume being worn by someone a fucking twitch away from death?" Red Hood knew what it would do to Tigress, made obvious by his laughter as her anger nearly overtook her.

"You do realise that if you kill them, you'll have the entire Justice League after you, right? Or are you just another megalomaniac who thinks he's untouchable?" Tigress replied, and Red Hood laughed again, but even through his voice disguiser, they could tell it was different. It was bitter, and broken, and hateful.

"I've already been put six feet under! And let me tell you, there is _nothing_ a bunch of self-righteous _heroes_ can do to me that is worse than having to claw my way out of my own fucking grave." Red Hood cackled, his grip on the knife and gun tightening.

"What do you want?" Aqualad asked him, composed as usual, but his anger simmering under the surface.

"What do I want? I want someone to pay, I want answers from someone else, and I want to be better than the Bat ever could be. And this? This is just to see how good _Replacement_ over here really is. How good he is when he meets someone better, someone who can hold you down and torture you in ways you can't fucking comprehend. And I've seen enough. Enough to know I'm done." And with that, Red Hood moved, and he moved fast. He ducked down, and Kid Flash charged him without thinking, tripping over the crouched body. Red Hood followed with a leg sweep, taking Robin's legs out from under him and then rolling backwards as Wonder Girl dove at him. He fired with his gun at Tigress, who had to shift sideways to avoid the bullets, before grabbing her crossbow and firing. Red Hood brought up his knife and cut the bolt in half, rolling right as Blue Beetle and Kid Flash attacked him in tandem, holstering his knife as he did so. He shot a bullet into Blue's knee, and the armor deflected it as the criminal caught one of Robin's birdarangs flying at him in midair. Without hesitation he threw it at the rearmed Aqualad, with an ease and expertise that could only come from practice.

He suddenly threw down a smoke bomb, obscuring him from sight, and they could only hear a fading and distorted chuckle as the Red Hood fled. The smoke cleared, and they hunted in vain for the elusive man with a red mask.

"He has fled. We should return and report on this...'Red Hood' to the League." Aqualad spoke, shaken by how easily the criminal had evaded them.

"He knew a lot about us. And...that name? Joker used to call himself that." Robin told him, Wonder Girl checking him over for injuries other than the cut on his neck.

"I don't care about the name. I just want to find him so I can put him in a body cast." Tigress's angry voice cut in. Red Hood's crack about Wally had hurt her, and they all knew it. And the fact that he knew either her original superhero moniker or her actual name was more disturbing than she let on.

 **Red Hood Safehouse**  
 **December 28, 6:34**  
He watched the tracker in his hand intently. It had been easy to goad the newbies, and almost as easy on the veterans, and easy to plant the tracker on the Replacement. Too fucking easy. Replacement was no Robin, that was for sure. Even _he_ had been a better Robin, and he was nothing but white-hot rage and utter recklessness. The new kid had all of Golden Boy's intelligence and dilligence, but none of the rebellion and impulse that made Goldie able to be a good Robin. Replacement was a kid who would follow every order given to the letter, and considering how he had ended up...if Goldie was the perfect Robin, and he was the failed Robin, then Replacement was the sheltered Robin. He didn't know death, hadn't stared as a clock counted down to your end.

 _ **Ethiopia Warehouse**_  
 _ **February 24, 23:42, 2014**_  
 _It was shocking, how much it hurt. The crowbar descended, again and again, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was the shrill laughter that pierced his ears and wrapped around his fracturing mind. All he was really aware of was bleached flesh and green hair and a red smile and the laughter, stop laughing, it wasn't fucking funny! He was vaguely aware of the clown talking to him, and all he could really do in reply was spit blood in the pale face, one last show of defiance before he broke. His head slammed into the ground, only making his concussion worse, and the crowbar came down again. It slammed into his body, again and again and again._

 _He was aware of sickening crunching, and it took him a moment to realise it was his ribs breaking. He was pretty sure he had a collapsed lung, and there was nothing but pain. Pain dominated him. He wasn't Robin anymore, because Robin was strong, and he was just a broken and crippled...thing. Curled up on the ground as a crowbar clipped his already weak wings, and all he could think was what he could do to make the pain stop. He stared at the purple pant legs that obstructed his field of view, narrow as it was with a swollen eye and blood leaking into the other._

 _The laughter didn't stop, just kept invading and violating his head, toying with him. There was more talking from his tormentor, who forced his head to look at something...numbers, a timer, counting down, with wires...bomb registered dimly in his wounded mind, alongside the realisation that he was on the ground, and the crowbar was gone, wasn't raining pain on him, and there was no laughter even as it echoed through his mind. He crawled forward, that primal instinct to survive taking over and steering him. He got to a door, how'd he get there so fast? and used the handle to lift himself up, ramming into the door with his shoulder before realising the door was locked._

 _He was able to make out the sound of a motorcycle, and the familiar noise of the Bioship, before turning his gaze to the timer._  
 _0:10_

 _0:09_

 _0:08_

 _0:07_

 _He was going to die, oh god he was going to die, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, he didn't want to die, he didn't want to die. All he had wanted was to survive, just take the Bat's tires and he'd be set for life, no more going outside the apartment and barely managing to keep from getting killed or worse, he hadn't wanted the cape and domino mask, hadn't wanted to be Robin..._

 _0:06_

 _0:05_

 _0:04_

 _0:03_

 _The sounds were getting closer, he could hear voices. They were too late, oh god, oh god, too late, oh my god I'm going to die, oh my god, oh god, oh god they're too late, oh god, oh god, I'm sorry I'm sorry don't let me die I don't want to die oh my god I DON'T WANT TO DIE_

 _0:02_

 _0:01_

 _don't let me die_

 _0:00_


	2. A Message Written In Blood

**When you're broken...**  
 **It's god damn hard to pick up the pieces...**  
 **To put them back into the proper places...**  
 **To fix yourself...**  
 **But sometimes, when the nightmares scream through your head...**  
 **You can't help but wonder...**  
 **Is it better to stay broken?**

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 28, 6:36, 2016**  
Four. Four heroes, immortalized forever in the heart of the Watchtower, while Mount Justice was being rebuilt. Tula. Ted Kord. Artemis hadn't known Ted that well, but he had seemed like a good person. And Tula had been a friend, yet they weren't particularly close. But it was the other two statues that hurt to look at the most, because she had known them well.

Wally hurt for obvious reasons. It still clawed at her whenever she looked at the projected image, so lifeless and...still. Wally had never been still, always moving and joking around and never doing anything slow. And Jason. Jason had never been considered a good teammate, with the shadow of Dick Grayson over him. He was reckless, didn't have the natural talent of Dick, and he often allowed his anger to dominate him, but he had been the Team little brother, despite the offputting first impression. She could easily recall the entire Team's shock when they met him, and realised exactly how distinctly different Jason Todd was to the Robin they were used to.

 _ **Mount Justice**_  
 _ **March 12, 2:13, 2011**_  
 _A sense of anticipation pervaded the Cave. They were getting a new Robin, after all. Nightwing had been incredibly vague when describing his successor, thought there had been a troubled glint in his eye. All they knew was that Batman had found him about two months before the Light's attack, and that he was just taking the mantle of Robin. That meant maybe five months of training, and assumably a bit of experience._

 _Wally was bouncing his foot as he stared at the Zeta-Tube, Kaldur standing next to him stoically, though no less anxious. Nightwing was pacing back and forth in front of the Zeta -Tube, muttering to himself about something only Conner would probably be able to hear. The half-Kryptonian was leaning against a wall, casual and unconcerned. Tula and Garth sat on the sofa together, seeming to not care at all about the new arrival. Megan had somehow convinced Artemis, Raquel, Donna and Zatanna to help her make some form of welcome cake, but from the constant stream of mumbled curses, it was not ending well._

 _"Recognise. Robin, B13." The golden glow of the Zeta-Beam startled them all, but what was even more startling was the young boy who stumbled out. The first thing they noticed was the changes in the uniform, the red torso with black legs and arms, the black domino mask, and the unkempt black hair. The second thing they noticed was the unprecedented level of swears coming out of the obviously young boy's mouth._

 _"Fucking disorienting piece of motherfucking shit. Dammit, is it that shitty every fucking time? Fucking shit, couldn't some son of a bitch figure out how to get this stupid fucking thing to not go all fucking wierd?" The kid couldn't be more than twelve, and yet he was swearing like he had been all his life. Nightwing was actually cringing, Wally's jaw had dropped, Kaldur's eyes had widened fractionally, Conner had lifted an eyebrow, Tula and Garth just stared, and the girls had gone silent._  
 _"Hey Dickie-Bird! Miss me?" The new Robin greeted, his voice loud and brash. Nightwing quickly walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder._

 _"Ja-Robin, no names, you know that. And ease up on the swearing." He softly reprimanded, but Robin just pushed the hand on his shoulder off with a laugh._

 _"Why? They've prob'ly heard worse! And besides, that's how I talk. They don't want to hear it, they don't have to fucking listen. What're you guys looking at?" The new Robin addressed the stunned members of the Team, voice full of petulance and fire._

 _All they could do was stare. They were used to a cool, witty Robin who played with the English language, not this brash and rough and rude Robin._

 _"This is the new Robin? Seriously?!" Wally exclaimed, the first to recover from his shock. Robin's eyes narrowed._

 _"You got a fucking problem with that? Cause I will put my bootprint on your shit brain until you don't." The young boy retorted._

 _"...Robin...may I ask where you learned such...language?" Aqualad mastered himself and asked Robin politely._

 _"Whenever mom went into withdrawal, or when one of dad's heists went bad. You figure this shit out pretty fucking quick in Crime Alley." Robin replied nonchalantly, as though growing up in the darkest and dirtiest place in Gotham City was no big deal._

 _"How did Bats find you?" Wally asked, not expecting the answer._

 _"I stole the Batmobile's tires. Then hit him with a tire iron." Wally stuttered, and a laugh could be heard from the returning Artemis, Megan and a sloppy cake in tow._

 _"You hit Batman with a tire iron? And stole his tires?" Artemis questioned, an amused smile on her face._

 _"S'what I said, isn't it? Wait...is that fucking cake?" Robin was easily distracted by the cake, and was almost drooling at the sight, despite the sloppy coating of frosting and the droopiness of everything else._

 _"Yeah! We made it as your 'Welcome to the Team' present!" Megan enthusiastically replied, happy that someone seemed to want the sloppily made cake._

 _"Never had cake before. What flavor is it?" The defiance, the petulance from before was gone, leaving a longing in its place. A longing that saddened even Conner._

 _"Strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate!" Robin walked over to the cake, removed a glove, and unceremoniously stuck it into the thick icing and put his finger in his mouth._

 _"It's good. Can...can I have some more?" He mumbled the last part out, and seemed prepared for a blow to come._

 _"Of course you can, baby bird! It's cake! You can always have more!" Wally told him, and Robin seemed genuinely shocked at that. Before grabbing a huge glob of cake and frosting and sticking it in his mouth. The piece he had practically ripped out of the cake was almost too big for his mouth, and he had trouble swallowing it down, but he managed._

 _"That's good. Also, don't call me baby bird Motormouth, or I'll shove my foot down your throat and out your ass. Also, dibs on the cake. Like, fucking all of it." Robin threatened, before sticking his hand in the cake again._

 _"Hey! That was kind of made for all of us!" Wally protested, and Robin simply held up a finger as he finished chewing._

 _"I've never had cake before, Ginger, so I'm going to fucking enjoy it. Screw sharing." Robin rebuffed, and several members of the Team had to stifle laughter. Nightwing just sighed._

 _"Little Wing, if you're done utterly embarassing me, Bats wants us back at the cave."_

 _"Yeah, yeah, I'm going."_

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 28, 6:40, 2016**  
Red Hood darted under the half-Kryptonian's charge, opening fire with one of his guns at the retreating Superboy's back. The bullets glanced off of the clone's skin, and Red Hood handsprung backwards to avoid the lightning spitting at him from Black Lightning. Superboy tried to attack him again, but he vaulted over his broad shoulders and kicked him in the back. He spun, ready to face down Superboy and Lightning.

He heard the sound of a martian emerging from the ground behind him, but he holstered a gun and his hand went inside his jacket quickly. He turned on his heel and there was the unmistakable sound of a grenade pin being pulled as he faced the young woman behind him.

"Incendiary." He mocked the stunned Miss Martian before dropping the grenade and rolling left, straight into a lightning bolt from Black Lightning. The lightning had no effect as the sound of a fire igniting and Miss Martian's screams could be heard.

"Insulated suit, genius." Red Hood slugged Black Lightning, brutally kicking him in the chest as he was knocked backwards. The older hero fell to the ground unconcious, so Red Hood turned to see an enraged Superboy glaring at him.

"Hi, Supey! Long time no see, right?" The red helmeted criminal mocked, laughing. Superboy rammed into Red Hood, slamming him into a wall, but the criminal just laughed.

"You wanna know what I love doing?" Red Hood asked the half-Kryptonian, who felt the barrel of a gun press against his stomach. He smirked at the criminal, pulling a fist back to punch him.

"Loading my left gun full of Kryptonite bullets, and unloading into someone." Red Hood whispered, before his gun flashed. He pulled the trigger seven times, seven bullets tearing into Superboy's gut. The blood pooled at Red Hood and Superboy's feet, the shocked half-Kryptonian collapsing before the chuckling Red Hood. The criminal walked on, contemplating putting one more bullet in Superboy's brain, before crouching down by the wheezing body and dipping his hand in the blood pooling under him, writing a message on the wall.

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 28, 6:43**  
When Megan recovered enough from the fire, she crawled over to Conner's still and raspily breathing form, shakily placing her hands over the wounds and transforming her hands into long and thin makeshift bandages, tears dripping down her face as blood pooled under his body. She stared at the message written in Conner's blood, by the man under the red helmet, the man who somehow had Kryptonite bullets and incendiary grenades.

The rest of the Team found her like that, and quickly carried Superboy to the med-bay. And still the martian girl stared at the words as the man she loved was bleeding to death.

'ARKHAM OPENS OR MORE SUFFER'


	3. Finding Leverage

**There's a line...**  
 **It's that thin little stretch of land...**  
 **The margin between black and white...**  
 **The line where your darkness won't be judged...**  
 **But your light will be ignored...**  
 **You've walked it too...**  
 **I know, because grey recognizes grey...**

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 28, 7:35, 2016**  
"I just saw the Zeta-Beam activate. Computer didn't even announce him. Next thing I know he's shooting at me and Superboy. The guy was well-prepared though. Incendiary grenade, insulated suit, freaking Kryptonite bullets." Black Lightning had recovered from Red Hood's assault, nursing a black eye and a massive bruise on his chest. The League's conference room was filled with both Leaguers and members of the Team, other than those with Superboy in the med-bay. Batman had his eyes narrowed, Superman was tense and full of rage, and the others were all finding their own ways of dealing with the attack.

"It is clear that we have three questions to answer regarding this 'Red Hood.' The first iswhere he acquired his weaponry, especially the Kryptonite bullets. The second is how he got access to the Watchtower. And the third is what his intent is, and why he wants Arkham Asylum open." Martian Manhunter spoke, drawing their attention.

"Not even Luthor has access to enough Kryptonite to make seven bullets. The only person we know who has enough..." Flash began, but was cut off by Batman.

"The Batcave hasn't been breached. He must have gotten it from somewhere else."

"Alright. But how did he get to the Watchtower? I doubt we have another clone in our midst." Wonder Woman said, glancing around the room.

"Unknown. We couldn't track his Zeta entry, but he may have piggy-backed on the assignation of one of our deceased members." Batman's fist clenched at that. The idea that a criminal might have used Jason's signature to attack them disturbed him. Despite their disagreements, Jason had been his son, and he had mourned for so long after his death.

"And the message? 'Arkham opens or more suffer?' What are his motives for the release of Arkham inmates?" Aquaman asked, turning attention to the final question.

"My king...I believe it may be a cull." Aqualad answered, leading to confused looks. "We had chased him to that warehouse after witnessing him execute two individuals. However it appears that both of them were criminals."

"There's been a recent spike in criminal deaths I've been investigating. All killed by a bullet in the head, all with lacerations on their bodies." Batman informed them, drawing shock from the others.

"So he's a vigilante gone bad. But why attack us? Why Kon-El?" Superman's voice was angry, his fists tightly clenched and his teeth gritted.

"He seemed to know me. Perhaps it is personal?" Aqualad answered, no less angry but much more controlled and measured. He was the Team leader, it was his responsibillity when a member was hurt. He had taken responsibillity when Tula died, when Jason died, even when Wally had died. If Superboy died...

He would hunt the Red Hood to the ends of the earth.

 **LexCorp**  
 **December 28, 19:29**  
"Nice place, Baldie!" A mechanical voice drew Luthor's attention from the paperwork on his desk. He arched an eyebrow at the armored youth in leather jacket and red helmet.

"Thank you. I worked hard on it." Sarcasm dripped off of Luthor's words as he reached for the handgun in his desk, posture nonchalant as usual.

"Hands up Luthie. You go for that gun of yours and I'll pop your big fucking head." The boy in front of him had two handguns in hand, aimed at Luthor's chest and head. This was no amateur, this was a practiced killer. There was no shaking in his hands, no rigidity in his posture. Completely relaxed. Luthor slowly raised his hands.

"I'll assume from the guns that you aren't with the Justice League." Luthor told him, resulting in a laugh from the youth.

"What an observation! But I didn't come here for your shitty banter. I came for a trade. A trade you'll be very fucking interested in." The boy slowly lowered the weapons and holstered them at his hips, then reached into his jacket and took out a square black box.

"Oh? How so?" The LexCorp CEO was genuinely curious about what could be in the box.

"You've got power inhibitor collars. And me? Well, I've got a certain green rock from a certain batty bastard." The youth slowly opened the box, revealing a green glowing rock. It was clearly cut in half, exposing the odd crystalline inside of the rock. Luthor's eyes widened at the sight. Kryptonite. Batman's Kryptonite. If it was genuine. The boy closed the box and stepped just in front of Luthor's desk.

"And I wouldn't worry about using it on Superboy...or Superman for that matter." The boy informed him, that irritating mockery still present.

"And why not?" Luthor asked, skeptical of the youth's motives.

"Because, fucktard, your clone's got seven green bullets in his gut, and we both know what happens when you fuck around with ol' Supey's family. Now, those collars."

"It will take awhile to make the deals and brief my...allies." Luthor held out his hand for the black box.

"Then it'll take awhile for you to get this Kryptonite. Oh, and I hope you Light fuckers come up with a better plan this time. Maybe stop listening to the creepy bitch with the cat, hey L-3?" That threw Luthor. The identities of the Light's members was a closely guarded secret, and to know at least two, and his designation.

"Who are you?" He found himself asking, before he could regain his nonchalance.

"I'm the Red Hood, bitch. Man, I've always wanted to fucking say that!" The youth crowed before vaulting over Luthor's desk and through the window, shattering it. Luthor dashed over to the window, and the sound of a grapnel could be heard as the leather jacketed Red Hood disappeared from Luthor's field of view.

The CEO returned to his desk and pressed a button hidden in one of his desk drawers. A screen slowly descended, divided into six boxes, as a signal went out to the other members of the Light. The faces of his co-conspirators appeared in the boxes, some annoyed, some interested.

"I recieved the most interesting offer..."

 **Red Hood Metropolis Safehouse**  
 **December 28, 19:34**  
All was going according to plan. Soon, he'd have the leverage he needed to open Arkham. He already had the League guessing, and assuming Luthor came through and gave him the real collars, he could get what he needed. Superboy was out of the picture, Superman would be fighting stupid, and Bruce would keep investigating his theft alone. He had to escalate. He needed Dickie-bird back in the picture. He needed to use something Golden Boy couldn't ignore.

Or maybe someone.

 **Blüdhaven Apartment**  
 **December 28, 19:36**  
Seven missed calls from the Team. Two from Artemis. Three from Alfred. One from Bruce. Twenty-four from Zatanna. Dick knew they were worried for him, but he couldn't face them. Any of them. He had used them, every last one. He had played with their emotions, forced Kaldur to betray everyone. Caused them all pain when he faked the death of Artemis. Used his and Zatanna's previous relationship to get what he needed. He didn't deserve to be worried over.

Dick stared at the dozens of case files on his desk, burying himself in work to avoid the guilt and the sorrow. Wally's death had torn him apart, despite his calm exterior. He had lost another brother, and even if none of them said it, the Team's trust. He needed something to distract him...

He flipped through one of the folders, not really taking in any of the information, too lost in his own thoughts. The ring of the phone broke him out of his reverie, and he glanced at the device he kept next to his papers.

It was Zatanna.

He ignored it.

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 28, 19:38**  
"Dammit Dick...I don't know if you'll actually listen to this message, but you better. Conner got shot, Dick. Seven Kryptonite bullets in the gut. We need you here, and...I need you here too. So please, just...just come back." Zatanna sank down into one of the chairs inside the med-bay, having exhausted much of her magic healing Conner. Martian Manhunter had shapeshifted his hands into a scalpel and tweesers to remove the bullets, and Zatanna had to use her magic to expunge the radiation from his body before even thinking about closing his wounds.

She knew that Dick felt guilty over what he had done, and she would be lying if she said finding out about how he used their history to get the glamour from her hadn't hurt, but she _missed_ him.

Missed him too damn much to be considered just a close friend.

 **Red Hood Metropolis Safehouse**  
 **December 28, 19:38**  
He grinned under the red helmet. He knew tapping Dickie-bird's cell phone had been a good idea. He had always considered Zatanna a potential target for leverage, but he had always known that he would go for whoever Golden Boy was with at the moment. Now Magic-trick was his top target. She had left twenty-four fucking messages checking in on him, most of which Dickie-bird had ignored.

Oh, he had found his leverage.

 _ **Wayne Manor**_  
 _ **March 12, 2:26, 2011**_  
 _"So, Dickie-bird, you and the magician..." Dick sighed. He should have known this was coming._

 _"What about me and Z?" He asked, knowing he would regret it._

 _"Pretty sure somethin's there. And don't fuckin' deny it shitbrain! Also, you already have a nickname for her? Christ, you know how hard it's going to be for me? What am I gonna call her now? Magic-hands? Tanna? Zat?" Jason continued to rattle off nicknames as he and Dick entered the Batcave, Alfred arching an eyebrow in amusement at Jason's antics._

 _"Master Jason, I believe Master Bruce requested you, regarding a museum break-in by the Riddler." He told the second Robin, who laughed and ran off._

 _"See ya, Dickie-bird! Bye Alfie!"_


	4. Escalation

**What you have to realise...**  
 **Is that there really is no good or evil...**  
 **There's only perspective...**  
 **And according to my perspective...**  
 **Your inaction is the ultimate evil in this world...**  
 **And my action is the ultimate good.**

 **Blüdhaven Apartment**  
 **December 29, 3:14, 2016**  
Dick stared at the phone on his desk. He had decided to actually listen to Zatanna's message for once, and it had shocked him. How the hell had Conner been shot? And seven fucking times? The only thing that could really pierce the half-Kryptonian's skin was Kryptonite, and if the bullets had been made from the material...who had shot him, and how had the shooter gotten enough Kryptonite?

This warranted his full attention. He wouldn't go back to the Watchtower, but maybe he could just give them at least some support. Maybe he could...

A knock at the door interrupted his thought process. His brow furrowed in confusion as he walked over to the door and opened it. He was surprised to see Zatanna on the other side, dressed in civilian clothes.

Dick couldn't even remember the last time he hadn't been in his Nightwing suit.

Zatanna looked angry, her eyes narrowed and fists clenched, but there was also a sadness and a longing in her irises.

"Zee, what are you doing here?" He asked, confusion beneath his domino mask. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"What do you think, Dick? You could have at least called back." She hissed, covering her shock at his disheveled appearance. His hair was mussed and all over the place, he had a large amount of stubble, and there were dark bags that could be seen even under his mask.

"Zee, I..." He began, but she cut him off before he could say anything.

"You thought you could just help from here, didn't you? But you don't even know who attacked us! You can't keep yourself away from us forever, Dick!" She shouted at him, and he hung his head, maybe regretful, maybe ashamed.

"I can't go back, Zee. I used them, all of them. I used you. I told you I never wanted to be Batman...but I became something worse." The guilt in his voice was palpable, and Zatanna's gaze softened. She wasn't looking at Nightwing, the collected and confident leader. She was looking at Richard Grayson, guilty and vulnerable.

"Look...we can talk about this after you take care of yourself. When was the last time you showered? Or even had a good sleep?" She asked him, motioning for him to stand aside. he did so, and she entered his apartment. It wasn't clean and neat like Dick normally was. It looked a lot more like Jason's room had, with garbage strewn across the floor, papers scattered everywhere, and a fine coating of dust and filth.

"Sorry about the mess. I've been...distracted." His voice was startlingly weak as he walked to his bathroom, removing his mask and suit as he entered the dust ridden shower.

"With what?" She asked him, walking over to his desk as the shower turned on.

"Blüdhaven isn't exactly Metropolis." He shouted over the water, as Zatanna stared at the dozens of manilla folders on the desk. She flipped through a few of them, skimming over the occasionally disturbing details. Five minutes later and the water turned off. Another five minutes and he exited the bathroom, clean-shaven and masked.

"You make it really hard to be mad at you, you know that Boy Wonder?" She teased, though the anger hadn't exactly left her. He softly chuckled at that, walking over to her and opening a drawer in the desk.

"So, you wanna explain how someone shot _Superboy_ of all people?" He asked her, and she sighed.

"The guy, he's calling himself Red Hood, used a Zeta-Tube to get on the Watchtower. Black Lightning, Superboy, and M'gann attacked him. He used an incendiary grenade on M'gann, knocked out Black Lightning, and shot Superboy with Kryptonite bullets. Then...god, he wrote a message in his blood, Dick." Dick looked taken aback, eyes widened.

"Jesus. What did the message say?" He asked, incredulous. This Red Hood seemed to be a very disturbed and skilled individual.

"'Arkham opens or more suffer.' Dick, the worst part is that this one is a vigilante gone bad. He kills criminals, tortures them if he can." She told him, slightly nauseous at the thought of the pain those men went through at the hands of Red Hood.

 **Blüdhaven Rooftop**  
 **December 29, 3:27**  
He crouched on the rooftop of Dickie-bird's apartment building, applying a thick layer of explosive gel on the weak and cracked surface. He was lucky Golden Boy lived on the top floor, or his job would be a helluva lot harder. He chuckled as he applied yet another layer of gel. He had to disorient both of them to beat them. With his free hand he took out his adhesive gag, readying it. Magic-trick could only cast spells if she could talk backwards, and Dickie hadn't kept himself in the best shape recently.

He could knock out Magic-trick and take down Goldie, then either verbally deliver his message, or leave the note. He grinned under his helmet, finding the trigger on the gel sprayer, backing away a good distance, and then pressing the button.

 **Blüdhaven Apartment**  
 **December 29, 3:29**  
The ceiling suddenly exploded, coating them in dust and plaster as a figure jumped into the apartment. Nightwing grabbed his escrima sticks and Zatanna quickly changed as the dust settled, revealing an armored figure in a leather jacket and red helmet.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" A mechanical voice asked, a long and wide strip in his left hand, and a long knife in his right.

"Who are you?" Dick asked him, tense and ready to attack.

"I thought you were a detective, Grayson! So figure it out!" He mocked, shocking both Nightwing and Zatanna. He knew one of the most closely guarded secrets of the League and the Team.

"Red Hood. Kind of unoriginal, don't you think?" Nightwing covered his shock, allowing his signature smirk to appear on his face.

"It's not about the originality. It's about the symbolism. Joker made me, after all. Only fair I commemerate it." Red Hood said, before lunging at Nightwing with the knife. Nightwing dodged left, lashing out with his escrima at Red Hood's head. The criminal ducked and rolled to the side, right next to Zatanna.

"Ezeerf mih-" She began her spell, but Red Hood took her feet out from under her, slapping the strip in his hand over her mouth and then punching her, knocking her out.

Nightwing gritted his teeth, rage building in him. He twirled his escrima, and the Red Hood laughed.

"Sorry I took down your girl, Grayson, but it's all part of the plan." Red Hood mocked, spinning his knife and holding it in a backhand grip. Nightwing charged him, striking with his escrima, but the right stick was blocked by Red Hood's gauntlet and the left was parried by the knife. The two stood there, straining against each other, one trying to defeat the other.

Red Hood suddenly lunged forward, headbutting Nightwing and then kneeing him in the gut. Red Hood backed away a step and then rotated on his heel, kicking Nightwing in the head, knocking him into a roll. Nightwing was disoriented, but still able to fight, and he noticed something about his opponent.

He had training, very good training. And some of his movements...they were familiar, way too familiar. Familiar like Jason and Tim and Barbara.

"You were trained by Batman, weren't you." It wasn't a question, and it elicited a chuckle from Red Hood.

"That's all you picked up? I'm disappointed, Grayson!" The criminal cackled, and there was something familiar about it...but he didn't have time to think about that, since Red Hood suddenly pulled a handgun from his hip and opened fire, forcing Nightwing to duck and dodge the bullets.

The noise of the gunshots sparked screams in the other apartments, briefly distracting Nightwing, giving Red Hood enough time to close in and attack, the knife flashing, the jagged edge nicking the Kevlar suit and stinging Nightwing. Nightwing countered with his escrima, striking at Red Hood and forcing him back a few steps. The criminal dodged the strikes, looking for an opening, before he found it and struck. His knife lashed out, the razor sharp edge slashing through one of the escrima, cutting it in half, and the knife was sheathed.

Red Hood grabbed Nightwing by the front of his suit and threw him into a wall, then threw him again, this time into the door. The disoriented hero had no time to recover as Red Hood kicked him in the chest, breaking the door and sending him into the hall. Nightwing sat against the wall, arms limp and head lolling. Red Hood stood over him, before crouching down to eye level.

"Don't worry about Magic, Dickie-bird. You want her back? Find me in Ethiopia. February 24." Nightwing's eyes widened. He knew that date. That was the day Jason died. He struggled to keep awake, but Red Hood suddenly slugged him, and darkness overtook him.

 _ **Bioship**_  
 _ **March 15, 12:26, 2011**_  
 _"So, Goldie, where the fuck we going?" Robin asked, strapped into the Bioship with Nightwing, Artemis, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Rocket._

 _"Did you listen to the briefing at all, Little Wing?" Nightwing sighed, a headache already building._

 _"I listened to the important parts. We're splitting up, fighting the Fearsome Hand of Four and the Shadows, they're basically robot ninjas, and I get to go with for fucking once. Where isn't exactly fucking important." He replied, resulting in another sigh from Nightwing._

 _"We're going to a secret Light landing zone in the Amazon, bird-boy." Artemis told him._

 _"Don't call me bird-boy..." He grumbled. If anyone but Artemis had called him that he would be swearing up a storm, but she was like his big sister._

 _"Whatever you say, bird-boy." She chuckled, and Robin started swearing under his breath._

 _"Alright, quiet. Miss M, link us up." Miss Martian nodded, telapathically linking all of the Team in the Bioship._

 _.: This is fucking wierd. And you guys are always talking like this? It kind of feels like you're all in my head...can I read everyone's minds? Cause that would be fucking cool. :. Robin's voice could be heard in all of their heads._

 _.: No, you can't read everyone's minds. But you do have to be careful what you think. Sometimes you can send flashes of images or memories if you aren't careful. :. Miss Martian explained, and Robin nodded in response._

 _.: Don't think any of you fuckers would appreciate a trip inside my head. :._

 _ **Hidden Light Drop Zone**_  
 _ **March 15, 12:33**_  
 _Robin dove out of the Bioship, alongside Artemis and Nightwing. The three of them landed with a roll, Artemis launching an arrow at a Shadow and Robin throwing a birdarang at another. The two Shadows thunked to the ground, and Nightwing knocked out a third one._

 _The three heroes moved, Shadows charging with blades out. Robin sweeped one's legs out from under him, kicking him in the face to knock him out before blocking a strike and kneeing his enemy in the gut, then following with a rapid series of punches to the torso. The Shadow fell, and Robin launched a birdarang at a Shadow sneaking up on Artemis._

 _A Shadow's blade nearly cut across his chest, but Robin handsprung backwards and launched a series of explosive pellets forward, stunning the pair of Shadows that had tried attacking, then diving into the smoke, punching and kicking the Shadows within the cloud._

 _The two men dropped to the ground, and Robin noticed that Artemis and Nightwing had both defeated their opponents as well._

 _.: Nice job, bird-boy. The Four should be just ahead. :. Artemis mentally sent, and Robin grumbled under his breath so they couldn't hear him._

 _Nightwing led the way, and they occasionally stealthily knocked out patrolling Shadows, before coming upon a massive base. The walls were grey concrete, with a massive helicopter pad dominating the base. Four green and black armored figures stood on the pad, menacing and surrounded by Shadows soldiers._

 _One of them had bright red hair pulled into a ponytail, lower face covered in a mask and two blades on her back. Another was massive, all of his face except for around his eyes hidden, and assumably incredibly strong. A third was a broad-shouldered male, twirling a staff with blue at the ends, occasionally sparking. The final was fully covered in thin armor, his frame lean and lanky, a cyclopian helmet covering his face._

 _.: There's the Hand. We go in quick and quiet. Artemis, bring down the Shadows around the Hand. Robin, cyclops and swords. I've got staff and big guy. :. Nightwing ordered, and the two nodded. Artemis nocked an arrow, launching them at the Shadows in quick succession. Nightwing and Robin moved forward, avoiding shuriken and blue blasts from the cyclops's helmet. They both used their grapnel to launch themselves up and onto the helicopter pad, Robin's cape flowing behind him as he charged. Nightwing grabbed his escrima sticks and attacked as well._

 _The one with the swords slashed and cut at Robin, while the cyclops fired beams of blue energy from his eye. Robin ducked and dodged the slashes, grabbing one of swords's wrists and twisting it, forcing her to drop the sword into Robin's waiting hand. He sloppily parried a sword strike, before striking with the weapon. The blow was countered easily, and Robin rolled right to avoid the counterattack, right into a blue beam of cyclops energy. He was sent flying back, right into the grip of the one with swords. She had a blade at his throat and an arm tight around his neck, the energized surface burning Robin's skin._

 _"Looks like you're done." She taunted, but Robin just smirked._

 _"You shouldn't have left my hands free." He said as he ripped his tazer out of his belt, bringing the electric surface to the underside of her jaw. She shrieked as the current rushed through her, collapsing with smoke coming from her armored body. Robin quickly launched several birdarangs at the stunned cyclops, knocking him down and unconscious._

 _.: You alright Little Wing? :. Nightwing's worried voice filtered through his head, and he nodded before realising Nightwing couldn't see him._

 _.: I'm fucking fine, no problems mommy-bird. Finally got to use the fucking tazer. Why didn't you ever bring it? :._

 _.: Didn't see the use. :._

 _.: It's a fucking tazer! What use isn't there for it? :._

 **Author's Note: For those who don't know, both the tazer and the Fearsome Hand of Four are from the Under the Red Hood movie.**


	5. Bound and Tormented

**What you people never realised...**  
 **Is that you can't destroy crime...**  
 **Not fully, not really...**  
 **So I'm doing the next best thing...**  
 **I'm controlling it...**  
 **Because control means power...**  
 **And I currently have both.**

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 29, 3:43**  
"Recognize. Nightwing, B01." The computer called as a golden glow illuminated Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, and Kid Flash. The former leader of the Team sprinted through, desperation and panic etched onto his face.

"Where's Batman?" He asked the pair, and they started to notice the dust and plaster in his hair and the bruise forming on the side of his head.

"Uh...he's talking with the League in the..." Nightwing dashed off before Blue could finish. He pounded through the Watchtower's halls, passing startled members of both the Team and the League, shoving a few out of his way. When he came to the automatic door to the conference room, instead of showing his non-existent League ID to enter, he shoulder-charged it down, shocking the League and Team members within.

"He...he took her. Red Hood took Zatanna." He panted out, sparking an uproar in the conference room.

 **Red Hood Blüdhaven Safehouse**  
 **December 29, 3:45, 2016**  
When Zatanna woke up, it was to the barrel of a gun shoved in her face. She was completely tied up, bound at the ankles, wrists, and torso, and the adhesive gag was still covering her mouth. Red Hood sat in a chair, relaxed and with a single gun in hand, as she viciously struggled and glowered at him.

"Calm down there, Magic! You might hurt yourself if you aren't careful!" Red Hood laughed, and she glared daggers at him.

"Psh. I've stood up to the Bat-glare! You don't have fucking shit on that." The rogue vigilante scoffed, walking around the decrepit apartment, the gun always somehow trained on a vital region on her body. Zatanna tried screaming at him, but it was completely muffled by the gag.

"What was that? Can't fucking hear you!" He mocked, heading into his kitchen, which had a single box-like window cut into the wall. The gun was still on her even as he dug around in the refrigerator, leaving her a twitch away from death.

"See, I bet you're wondering why you're here! And I bet you're wondering who I am, too! But guess what. You don't get to fucking know. But you'll be staying with me for a while, Magic! Might as well get settled." She could tell he was eating as he was talking to her, but she could only make out black and mussed hair, and a deep voice. Nothing to give her any clues about his identity.

It could have been ten minutes later, but Zatanna couldn't tell, as the only clock she could see had several bullet holes in the clock face, when a red helmeted head suddenly appeared. She jumped back, and he chuckled at the sight.

"Scared of me? You really fucking should be. But enough about me! It's time to send a message to good old Dickie-bird!" He cackled, revealing the small camera in his hand. It was advanced, almost exactly as advanced as some of Batman's cameras. He turned it on and fiddled with a few of the buttons, before pointing it at her.

"Hey there, Grayson! Did ya miss me, asshole? Well, if you didn't, fuck you! If you did, fuck you slightly less!" There was an odd cheer to the criminal, Zatanna realised. He could be upbeat even when he was threatening your entire family.

"So, here's how this works. I've got your fucking girl! And I hope you remember where and when you get to see her again! Because we've got a bit of a score to settle, you and me and the Bat and the Clown! I want Arkham open, first! Every day the Asylum stays under lock and key, I will torture her. Beat her. With. A fucking. Crowbar. And I will make you fucking watch." Red Hood laughed, and he grabbed a clean and brand new crowbar off of the floor that Zatanna hadn't noticed before.

"You know, I really hate it when my brand fucking new crowbars get rusty! And I'm pretty sure that blood rusts stuff. And in this case, it's going to be her blood. So Arkham opens. Or she suffers." He laughed, setting the camera on the chair he had been first sitting in, perfectly positioned to capture the impending torture. He chuckled as he walked towards her, watching her eyes widen in fear as he lifted his arm with the crowbar and brought it down.

The first strike was agony, and so was the next, and the next, and the next. It went on, until every strike got lost in the haze of pain filling her. She could barely tell when he stopped, but it still was agonizing, and she could barely make out the words he spoke before he left.

"Don't worry. You get used to it."

 **Watchtower**  
 **December 29, 3:46**  
"Hold on. Calm down, everyone. Nightwing, please explain." Martian Manhunter calmed the heroes, addressing the wounded and panicked vigilante.

"She...Zatanna came to talk to me. And then, suddenly the ceiling exploded, and Red Hood was there. We fought him, but he...he gagged Zatanna, and knocked her out. Then we fought, and he beat me. Then he told me to meet him in Ethiopia...on February 24th." They were all silenced. They all had seen the brutal murder of Jason Todd, since the Joker had one of his henchman film the entire torture, and then gave it to Batman during their next meeting. The result had been many of them finding a reason to hate the Joker.

"Error. Unable to recognise." The heroes in the conference room were startled by the sound of the Zeta-Tube activating. Flash sped towards the tube, the others following, sprinting through the halls and revealing the Red Hood, his arm wrapped around Beast Boy's throat, a gun pressed to the terrified youth's skull. He laughed at the rage on the faces of those just arriving. Flash and Kid Flash were tense and ready to speed at the Red Hood, Beetle's cannon was active and aimed at Red Hood, and Miss Martian's face was completely livid.

"Hi there! I've just got a little message to deliver, and I'll be on my way!" He jeered at them, delighting in their anger.

"What could you possibly have to show us?" Miss Martian demanded of him, and he chuckled.

"Well, I left you a message last time I was here. You fuckers ignored it. This is just me, giving you an added incentive to do as I asked. Oh, and make sure Replacement and Red know that sneaking up on me is kind of pointless. Considering the fact that I've got a gun to Greenie's head, and I just have to move my finger _slightly_ to blow his green brains out." Robin and Batgirl dropped down from the rafters, shocked at Red Hood's skill.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to get my little message from my jacket, then I'm going to run like fucking hell. Sound good? Fucking great!" He told them, suddenly releasing Beast Boy, slamming a flash drive into the boy's hands and then running towards the Zeta-Tube, weaving between the attacks of the many heroes, just about to activate the Zeta-Tube when Miss Martian dove into his mind. He didn't even cry out at the intrusion, instead suddenly and violently ripping apart the mental link, sending countless images of torture and executions into the martian's mind, before breaking off the link and rushing through the Zeta-Tube.

M'gann collapsed, clutching her head, trying to sort through the horrific images of criminals being tormented by the Red Hood, as Gar stared at the flash drive in his hands, shaking from the fear that had been brought on by being held hostage. Nightwing walked up to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and grabbing the flash drive.

"What the hell could he want?"

 **Watchtower Conference Room**  
 **December 29, 3:53**  
 **"...** Asylum stays under lock and key, I will torture her. Beat her. With. A fucking. Crowbar. And I will make you fucking watch." The Red Hood on the projected video laughed as he grabbed a shining and new crowbar.

"You know, I really hate it when my brand fucking new crowbars get rusty! And I'm pretty sure that blood rusts stuff. And in this case, it's going to be her blood. So Arkham opens. Or she suffers." The Red Hood slowly walked over to the captive Zatanna, and started brutally beating her, the crowbar descending and her screams of pain resounding. Nightwing clenched his fists, rage filling him at the sight of Zatanna being tortured. Doctor Fate grabbed the helmet, screaming in pain, and tears could be seen running down Zatara's face beneath the helmet, the bound father's agony briefly overcoming Nabu's power.

"Don't worry. You get used to it." Red Hood told Zatanna, voice briefly lacking his usual mockery, instead filled with hate and bitterness. Then he turned back to the camera and crouched before it.

"Open Arkham, Dick-head. Or I'll put her through the same hell I went through." He snarled, before turning the camera off, leaving those watching silent and horrified.


	6. Nothing But A Ghost

**Author's Note: Really sorry about the long wait, but I finally got this uploaded.**

 **You know the worst part about dying...**  
 **And then coming back to life?**  
 **It's realising how expendable you were...**  
 **How inconsequential...**  
 **How...**  
 **Replaceable.**

 **Watchtower Conference Room**  
 **December 29, 3:54**  
"We have no choice. Arkham must open." J'onn broke the horrified silence. M'gann was helping Gar, who had vomited while watching the torture, and Dick was tense and trembling with rage.

"We can't. It'd be playing into his hands." Bruce rebutted, his voice tight and filled with contained rage.

"Are you joking?! He's not bluffing, he's going to keep up the torture! Nobody can last through daily beatings with a crowbar!" Dick cut in, angry and glaring at his mentor.

"He won't kill her. Right now, he has an incredibly valuable hostage, killing her won't-" Bruce tried, but Dick interrupted him.

"He has access to the Watchtower! He can just take someone else, and do it again, and again, and again. We have to open Arkham. There's no choice. It's the only way to take him down and keep Zee safe." Bruce's jaw clenched and he sighed through his nose, before closing his eyes and lowering his head.

"I'll call the Commissioner. Arkham opens."

 **Red Hood Gotham Safehouse**  
 **December 29, 12:24**  
"Gotta love unbridled access to the Watchtower's Zeta-Beam network, right?" He asked the weakly glaring Zatanna, bruises and a few cuts all over her body. She was still gagged, and the ropes keeping her bound hadn't even frayed. The Red Hood chuckled as he dragged her into the ruined apartment, her struggling weak and feeble.

"Calm down there, Magic, or I might just decide that waiting is boring. Then I get to send another bit of torture to your boyfriend." She stopped moving at that, eyes wide in rage and terror, fighting the building tears. She had seen Jason's body after his death, after all, and it had instilled a deep fear of torture.

A small television was already turned on to the Gotham News when Red Hood threw her to the ground, moving over to the glowing screen and turning up the volume manually, allowing him to hear the reporter.

"-that Arkham is being opened, due to the demands of a deadly vigilante called the Red Hood, who kidnapped a member of the Justice League. When asked for comment, the League said, quote 'The situation is being handled, and the Red Hood will be brought down, not only for this kidnapping, but for the numerous murders he has commited.' The League did not tell us which member was taken, although many suspect-" The Red Hood turned off the television, before turning to Zatanna.

"Lucky you. Dickhead decided to open up the Asylum. Now I get to hunt a bunch of fucking insane criminals, and kill them all until the Bat or Dickhead comes to get me." He snickered, taking his gun out of the holster. He held it by the barrel, and slowly walked over to her.

"But I can't exactly have you up and about, now can I? Nighty night Magic." He whispered, before the butt of the gun struck her in the head, and the world was black.

 **Gotham City**  
 **December 29, 12:27**  
Nightwing ran across the rooftops, searching for a leather jacket and red helmet. Robin, Batman, and Batgirl were hunting all across the city, taking down the released inmates and trying to find the Red Hood. He leaped off the edge of the roof, his grapnel lashing out and pulling him onto another. Insane laughter filled the air, and Nightwing searched for the source.

He saw the man laughing, shirtless and standing over a blood-soaked corpse. Scars in the form of tally marks covered his skin, and two bloody knives were held in his hands, his eyes wide and insane. Nightwing leaped off the building, landing on the still laughing Zsasz. The inmate tried to stab Nightwing with his left knife, but the vigilante grabbed his wrist and twisted it, forcing the knife out of his hand. Zsasz kept laughing, but abruptly stopped, eyes widening in terror as he looked at something behind Nightwing.

Nightwing turned, just in time to feel a crushing weight hit him in the chest. The figure who hit him rolled backwards into a standing position, a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. Nightwing growled, recognising the red helmet.

"Miss me?" Red Hood asked him, pointing the gun at the whimpering Zsasz, who was muttering to himself and staring at Red Hood.

"Nonononono, not the red one, not the red one, I'm not done yet, not done..." Zsasz's insane ramblings were the only thing heard in the alley.

"Where's Zatanna?" Nightwing demanded, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"You know when you get to see her again, Dickhead. Oh, and thanks for releasing all these guys. Makes killing them much easier." He replied, before suddenly pulling the trigger. The bullet entered Zsasz's chest with a wet thunk, and Nightwing lunged at Red Hood as he holstered his pistol.

The strike was blocked, and Red Hood struck with his knife, striking a glancing blow at the dodging Nightwing. The two vigilantes dodged and struck, a complex dance between a killer and a vigilante. Red Hood struck with the knife again, before hitting Nightwing in the head with the barrel of the gun, and kneeing him in the gut.

"You really should expand on your skills. You are way too fucking predictable, Dickhead." Red Hood mocked, and Nightwing attacked again, but the blow was deflected, and Red Hood lashed out at his legs, sweeping them out from under him. Nightwing fell into a backwards roll, his right escrima hitting Red Hood in the abdomen as he lunged forward, spinning on his heel and hitting the killer in the back. Red Hood stumbled forward, before rotating and slicing through the escrima, then kicking Nightwing in the chest. He was sent backwards, into an alley wall, and barely managed to duck another slash from Red Hood, the knife leaving a long cut in the brick surface.

Nightwing's vision was fuzzy, and he dropped his ruined escrima, drawing two batarangs from his belt and launching them at Red Hood, who quickly sheathed his knife. Red Hood caught one in midair, ducking with a spin under the other one and launching the batarang in hand. Nightwing darted left to avoid the batarang, drawing his grapnel and firing. The thick rope wrapped around Red Hood's forearm, pulling him towards Nightwing, but his free hand drew his knife and sliced through rope. Nightwing punched him quickly in his helmeted face, but Red Hood turned it into a slide on his knees, slashing at Nightwing's armpit with his knife. The blade connected in a thin scratch, tearing through the outer layer of the suit, and Red Hood was on his feet facing Nightwing's back by the time the vigilante turned to face him.

"Who are you?" Nightwing asked, panting and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Red Hood's labored, mechanical breathing could be heard even through the helmet, showing his own exhaustion from their short but brutal fight.

"Me? I'm nothing but a fucking ghost. An easily replaceable ghost." Red Hood replied, before suddenly reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small disk. Before Nightwing could respond, he launched the disk at the wall, and a thick cloud of smoke spat out of it, forcing a cough from Nightwing and obscuring his vision as mechanical laughter reverberated through the alley. Nightwing swore as he searched in vain for the red helmet he had come to loathe, before drawing his grapnel and firing, returning to the roofs.

 _ **Mount Justice**_  
 _ **March 18, 8:26, 2011**_  
 _"Oh, come on!" Robin's loud voice could be heard throughout the whole Cave, drawing the attention of most of the Team. It was still odd, realising how drastically different the new Robin was, but despite the rough edges, it was fun to be around him._

 _"Let's try this again, Little Wing." The patient but obviously strained voice of Nightwing replied, much quieter, highlighting yet another difference between the two._

 _"But when the fuck am I ever going to need to know how to do this?!" Robin wailed, the voice coming from the main room. Wally zipped over, finding the red-suited Boy Wonder hunched over a paper, pencil in hand, with Nightwing looking on._

 _"Essay writing is an important skill, Jaybird." Nightwing replied, hands pressed to his temples in an attempt to alleviate the mounting headache._

 _"But it's stupid! Besides, I don't need to write an essay when I'm beating the shit out of some criminals!" Robin was persistent, and stubborn, but Nightwing was patient, and also stubborn._

 _"What essay?" Wally asked, making Robin jump and Nightwing slowly turn. Wally laughed at Robin's reaction, until a nearly Batman level bat-glare from the younger boy shut him up._

 _"It's an essay about his favorite member of the Justice League. He claims he doesn't have one. I know he's lying." Nightwing answered, and the bat-glare swivelled towards him, but he only smirked. After a few minutes, Robin huffed and broke the glare, crossing his arms petulantly._

 _"Seriously? You don't have a favorite? What about Superman? Dick got his new name from Supes, after all." Wally suggested, but Robin simply shook his head and muttered something under his breath._

 _"What was that, Jaybird?" Nightwing prodded, a smirk falling into place on his face as the Zeta-Tube activated._

 _"Blue Beetle! My fucking favorite is Blue Beetle! Happy, shitbrains?" Robin shouted, and Nightwing's smirk only widened, glancing at the emerging Leaguer. Robin looked as well and froze, seeing the blue-suited figure of Ted Kord looking back at him._

 _"Shit." He mumbled, before once again glaring at Nightwing, taking his paper and pencil and storming off to fume somewhere._

 _"Hm. Nice to know I'm somebody's favorite member of the League." Was Blue Beetle's only response, before he went back to whatever his reason for going to the Cave was._

 _"You knew he was coming, didn't you?" Wally asked the still smirking Nightwing._

 _"Yep, and I knew he was Jay's favorite. Little Wing's really into engineering. Even managed to make his own explosive batarang..." Nightwing started, obviously holding back a snicker._

 _"And?" Wally prodded, grinning, as he knew where this was probably going._

 _"It blew up in his face. Alfred was not happy." Nightwing chuckled and Wally laughed, before Robin's loud cursing broke them out of it. He stormed back into the room, grabbed a pencil sharpener, and proceeded to sharpen his newly lead-less pencil. When he was done he flipped the two of them off, keeping his middle finger raised as he stomped back to wherever he came from. The two waited until he was gone, and then started laughing once again._

 **Author's Note: In my headcanon, Jason is really into engineering, explaining where he got most of his Red Hood gear, aside from the knife and guns.**


	7. Laser Sight Extortion

**Pain is something I know...**  
 **Like an old friend, that always comes back...**  
 **Fucking inevitable...**  
 **And pain always leaves scars...**  
 **I've got my fair share...**  
 **And the most painful scars...**  
 **Are the ones on the heart.**

 **December 31, 20:48, 2016**  
 **Light Meeting Zone**  
Vandal Savage was a patient man. He had to be, waiting years for his (failed) plan to infiltrate the Watchtower to come to fruition. So it was a simple matter to wait for the vigilante to arrive, while he held a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Savage admitted to himself that the Red Hood was interesting. He left nothing to track him with, he left no money trail, obviously having manufactured all of his own weapons, he left no fingerprints, no voice identification, and he was too good to get cut and provide a blood sample. In short, a ghost.

When Luthor had called him and the other members of the Light about the deal, he had of course been sceptical. Vigilantes didn't go making deals with criminals, especially not those willing to kill them in cold blood, those who accepted no bribe, no surrender. Fanatics. But Batman's Kryptonite, if genuine, was too much to pass up. And for a few measly power inhibitors? And aiding the Red Hood's attacks on the League would of course distract them from Savage's plans, making him an unknowing ally.

"Caveman! How's it going? You got my collars?" Speak of the devil...Savage recognized that mechanical, obnoxious voice as Red Hood's.

"That all depends on if you have brought the Kryptonite." He replied, overlooking the caveman comment.

"Might be a bit less than what it used to be, but I've got a good reason for that." Savage choked down a flaring of annoyance, knowing that Red Hood could easily back out of the deal and leave him without the precious green rock.

"And what reason might that be?" He asked the vigilante, wanting to know if Red Hood had kept some on hand. The vigilante just chuckled, before reaching into his jacket and drawing a shorter knife than his usual one, the only real differences being length and the fact that this knife's outer edge was glowing a pulsing green, the green of Kryptonite.

"Gotta have a nice _edge_ on those Kryptonians." Red Hood laughed at his own joke, while Savage simply stared at the now even deadlier weapon. Savage noted that another sheath could be seen at Red Hood's belt, presumably his usual knife. So it seemed the Kryptonite knife was only for the Kryptonians.

"Now, those collars?" Red Hood asked, sheathing the glowing knife and motioning towards the briefcase.

"Ten of them, as well as a switch for each, and a single master switch to control them all." Savage explained, opening the briefcase and showing the inhibitors.

"Now, the Kryptonite." Savage watched expectantly as Red Hood grabbed a small black box from his jacket and opened it, washing Savage in the glow of Kryptonite. He smirked slightly, the scars raking his face twisting with the motion. Red Hood stepped closer, closing the box and putting it back into his jacket, fingering his knife as Savage prepared to acquire Batman's Kryptonite.

"So, how do I know the collars are genuine?" Too late, Savage realised he didn't close the briefcase, allowing Red Hood to grab a collar and the corresponding switch, rolling under a punch from Savage and clambering up his wide back, slapping the collar around his neck and leaping off, landing with a grunt, as Savage turned and gave him a victorious and malicious snarl.

"The collars must be programmed to an individual's specific powers." Savage mocked, before he charged at Red Hood, who ducked and spun around the attack, forcing Savage to pivot and face the vigilante, who stood as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Oh, I know. But you forgot..." He started, as Savage barreled towards him, determined to rip the Kryptonite away from Red Hood's corpse. "...they shock too."

The grin could easily be heard in the vigilante's voice as electricity tore through Savage's body, stopping him cold as the pain flooded every nerve ending, so excruciating he couldn't even scream. He was unaware of how long Red Hood held down the shock button, but it felt like an eternity before the agony fled, though aftershocks of the pain still remained. He felt a boot press against his chest, hands carefully removing the collar from his neck, and the painful sensation of being stabbed in the gut. He looked down and saw Red Hood's normal blade inside his gut, the vigilante's hand clutching the hilt.

"Thanks for the collars, Caveman." Red Hood laughed, tearing the blade out, viscera and blood coating it, and he used the leg of Savage's uniform to wipe away the gore.

"Have fun bleeding out!" Red Hood chirped, even though he and Savage both knew the ancient warlord would heal long before that happened. The Red Hood had just made an enemy of the Light, and Savage inwardly vowed to end him slowly and painfully, as his flesh slowly knitted itself back together.

 **Gotham Academy**  
 **January 1, 14:24**  
Tim's breath misted in front of his face as he waited in the Academy parking lot for Dick. He shivered as a cutting wind blew through his jacket, his gloves and hat offering barely any protection. He rubbed his hands together in an effort to warm them, shivering all the while. A hand suddenly tapped his shoulder, and he jumped in surprise before turning around and seeing the grinning face of Stephanie Brown. She was struggling to contain her laughter, snickering under her breath as he flushed.

Stephanie had begun attending Gotham Academy two weeks ago, after Bruce had arrested Cluemaster, who happened to be her father. Giving her a scholarship in an effort to keep her out of crime without making her another Jason, she had almost immediately recognised Tim and became friends with him. Bruce had allowed him to share his identity with her, though he hadn't been happy with that.

"Not funny, Steph." Tim scowled, causing her to stop trying to hold in her laughter. He sighed in exasperation as her laughing tapered off into soft giggles.

"Oh, come on! I thought superheroes were hard to sneak up on!" She retorted, and he rolled his eyes in response. He was about to say something when the cell phone in his pocket rang. He pulled it out and answered, expecting apologies from an overstressed and forgetful Dick. Instead, a mechanical voice rasped out.

"Hey there, Replacement!" Tim stiffened, eyes growing wide, and Steph noticed as he paled.

"Tim?" She asked hesitantly, but he shushed her, giving her a look that brooked no resistance.

"What do you want?" His voice was tight, reigning in his fear. Steph was in danger, was the first thing that flashed through his mind, but he quickly discarded that. Red Hood may have been a killer, but he still had a moral compass, albeit incredibly twisted. He didn't kill civilians.

"A fight. With you. Time to see if the new Robin is any good on his own." The killer on the other end snickered, made sinister by his voice distorter and the phone.

"And if I say no?" Tim replied, before he noticed a small red dot directly over Steph's chest. The red dot of a sniper rifle.

"I kill her." The statement was so simple, a mere three words that chilled his blood. His grip on the phone tightened, his knuckles whitening and his mouth drying.

"I thought you didn't kill civilians." Tim accused, bordering on terrified. He knew the Red Hood was remorseless, and almost certainly a sociopath, completely lacking in empathy and conscience.

"This isn't killing a civie. This is a preemptive strike on a future criminal. She is the daughter of fucking Cluemaster, remember." The red dot danced up to Steph's forehead, and he froze.

"Alright. I'll do it." Tim sighed, and the red dot vanished.

"Fucking great! You'll be getting the address soon." The rogue vigilante hung up, and a simple text message appeared on Tim's phone, showing the address of a simple apartment complex situated in Crime Alley.

Tim picked through his memory, trying to find anything of signifigance about the building. And then he finally found it.

The address was Jason Todd's.

 _ **Mount Justice**_  
 _ **April 1, 15:21, 2011**_  
 _"Nightwing! Where the hell is Robin?!" Conner's face was red with anger, and he was growling. Dick almost laughed, but knew that it would be a mistake, as the newly pink-haired Kryptonian was already pissed, and laughing would only make him angier._

 _"I honestly don't know." Dick replied, before being startled by a red garbed figure dropping between the two, a smug smirk adorning his face as he laughed at Conner, a bright gold balloon in hand._

 _"April Fool's motherfuckers!" He shouted, before throwing the ballon at Dick, covering him in bright gold paint. He ran off, Nightwing and Superboy behind him. Conner dived at him, but Robin juked away with a laugh._

 _"Suck it, Superlame!" He laughed, but was tackled by Dick, a knee on his chest keeping him pinned, but the shit-eating grin refused to leave his face._

 _"Hi Goldie! The name really suits you now!" Jason snickered, before Dick wiped away some of the paint on his chest and smearing it all over Jason's uniform with a laugh. Nightwing stood up, offering a hand to Jason, who smirked and grabbed the hand. A jolt ran through Nightwing, and Jason laughed as he ran off, joybuzzer still in hand._

 _He spun around the confused Kaldur, slapping him on the back as he went, but the Atlantean seemed unaffected by the joybuzzer._

 _"Stupid Atlantean resistance to electricity!" Jason shouted, barely avoiding being clipped by a speeding Wally, with an irate Artemis and Zatanna after him._

 _"Great, now there's two of them." Artemis complained, sticking a leg out to trip Jason, who leaped over the extended limb with a smile._

 _"Nice try, Arty!" He called out, before ramming into a fuming Conner with an "oh shit." The Kryptonian lifted Robin by the back of his uniform, a scowl on his face._

 _"Hey, uh, Kaldur, you think you could get Supers to put me down? I won't prank you!" Robin practically begged, but the Atlantean only smirked. The blood left Jason's face. Kaldur never smirked. He looked back at Conner, who grinned at him. Jason gulped, before he started wildly struggling, trying to buzz the Kryptonian carrying him, but it seemed ineffectual on the clone._

 _"Hey Artemis! Grab a dress!" Conner shouted, giving a meaningful look towards Robin, who simply muttered another "oh fucking shit." The archer smirked dangerously, striking even more fear into the Boy Wonder._

 _ **April 1, 15:28**_  
 _"I hate you motherfuckers." Robin sulked, a bright pink and frilly dress that didn't belong in Artemis's closet over the top of his uniform, bright red lipstick sloppily applied, tied to a chair while Dick took a picture with a snicker._

 _"Oh suck it up Robster!" Wally laughed, before a smirk appeared on Jason's face._

 _"Hey Arty! Motormouth raided your closet! Specifically, your underwear drawer!" He laughed, and Wally backed away slowly as Artemis fixed a dangerous glare on the speedster._

 _"Might wanna run now, Motormouth!"_


	8. Testing The Replacement

**I bet you all think I'm insane...**  
 **Nothing but a sick nutjob...**  
 **Because I kill...**  
 **Because I am the unaccountable variable...**  
 **But you're the real lunatics...**  
 **Because you do the same thing...**  
 **Over and over...**  
 **And expect the result to change.**

 **Jason Todd's Apartment**  
 **January 1, 15:30, 2016**  
Robin slowly and quietly opened the dirt encrusted window, careful to limit the noise. He didn't want to alert Red Hood to his presence, as the vigilante was much better than him, and victory hinged on the element of surprise.

Part of him told him that he should alert Dick and Bruce, make sure they knew what Red Hood wanted. He didn't even really know. But he did know that the Red Hood seemed to have an obsession with Jason Todd, and he had information that no random vigilante could have...

Tim's eyes widened. Insider knowledge. Familiarity with Aqualad and Artemis. Obsession with Jason Todd. Calling him Replacement.

No, it wasn't possible. Jason was dead. No coming back from that. Couldn't be a Cadmus clone, they never caught Jason. Joker was the only one to do that, and the Light had already distanced themselves from him. Maybe it was a friend of Jason's? That could work. Jason probably wasn't as tight-lipped about the whole thing as Bruce and Dick so it could be...

He didn't finish the thought, as a jacketed arm shattered the window and pulled him in by the front of his uniform. The glass cut his unprotected face as Red Hood threw him inside the apartment. He hit a rickety recliner, and the dust covered furniture collapsed under the sudden weight, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Timmy! You made it! I was beginning to think you weren't showing up!" Red Hood crowed, as Robin picked himself up off the floor. The killer held two knives in his hands, one a familiar silver, the other edged in deadly green.

"Kryptonite knife?" Robin mumbled, but Red Hood heard him anyway.

"Yep! You like it?" Robin didn't respond, instead launching a rapid flurry of batarangs at him. Red Hood darted through them, and closed in on Robin, lashing out with his normal knife. Robin ducked under the strike and punched at Red Hood's armored abdomen, but the blow was deflected by Red Hood's arm, sending a stinging pain through Robin's hand. So he was armored under the jacket too.

Red Hood didn't give Tim any chance to follow up on his first strike, instead slicing at him with the glowing green blade. Robin managed to dodge the vertical blow, but Red Hood reversed his momentum, sending the blade on a course for Tim's gut. He grabbed Red Hood's wrist, trying to keep from being gutted, but the other knife went for a stab at his neck, forcing Tim to grab that wrist too. He felt himself slowly being beaten, Red Hood's superior strength pushing the knives closer to his vital points.

He desperately spun to the side, throwing Red Hood into a wall as he released his grip, causing the killer to grunt in pain before chuckling, sheathing both of his blades and cracking his knuckles.

"Alright, you're not total shit. But now, Replacement, you have fucking pissed me off." The menace in the mechanical voice was palpable, and Tim felt a spurt of fear flash through him as Red Hood rushed him, desperately blocking ruthless and calculated punches from the killer. But he couldn't beat every attack away. He would block a knee to the gut, and take a blow to the face. He would deflect a punch and get a kick to the side.

Red Hood suddenly grabbed him, sending him into a wall, cracking the plaster from the force of it. The killer threw a punch at Tim's head, but he ducked under the blow, and Red Hood's arm was buried in the wall. Tim took advantage of Red Hood's disadvantage, drawing his staff and extending it as Red Hood tore his arm out of the wall, leaving a massive gash in the surface.

"Nice toy, Timmy. But mine's better." He taunted as he drew one of his guns, firing a barrage of bullets that Tim was forced to dodge. His staff made it difficult, but he still managed to avoid the projectiles. Unfortunately for him, that came at a cost, as Red Hood had advanced towards him. He struck with the staff, hoping to at least stun the killer, but Red Hood simply grabbed the weapon. Tim released his grip, but his feet were taken out from under him by his own staff, as Red Hood advanced towards him. He scrambled away, turning and launching a batarang at Red Hood, but he simply caught the beeping weapon and threw it back at Tim. It buried itself near his head, and Tim rushed to his feet, before the explosion brought him down again.

His ears were ringing, but he could see Red Hood advancing towards him. The staff was in two pieces at the killer's feet, but if Tim could reach his weapon...

A kick from the killer cut that train of thought short quickly. He gasped as the air left him, and he felt himself being forced to his feet and dragged towards a wall.

"Bye bye Replacement." Red Hood whispered to him, before tearing the Robin symbol from his chest. The stylized R fell to the ground, as the killer threw him through a window, shattering the glass and cutting his uniform to pieces. He fell to the pavement below, but before he could impact, his grapnel lashed out, swinging him towards another building. He suddenly felt a burning pain in his shoulder, and he almost released the grapnel, but he managed to make to the roof of a small building before he did.

He felt his shoulder, and his hand came away covered in blood. He thought he could almost hear mechanical laughter in the distance, and he knew. Red Hood could have killed him at any time.

 _ **Gotham City Warehouse**_  
 _ **July 23, 19:46, 2011**_  
 _"Robin! Hold them off!" Batman ordered, running after a retreating Bane. Robin grumbled, launching batarang after batarang at the gun toting henchmen. Bullets streaked towards him, and he dove behind a crate to avoid them. He punched a hole in the side of the crate, trying to find something to help hold off the attackers. He looked inside the crate, and grinned. Automatic rifles._

 _He quickly grabbed one, holding it loosely as he looked for another crate. Bullets started to break through the wooden surface, and he rolled behind another shipment, bullets tearing through his cape. He punched another hole, and was happy to find countless magazines inside. He quickly loaded the gun, for once thanking Ma Gunn's little crime academy for more than just helping him impress Batman. The firing seemed to let up, so Robin darted out of cover and opened fire, spraying the opposite wall with bullet holes. The thugs ducked, one taking a bullet to the arm and shouting in pain._

 _"That's right! Fuck off, assholes!" He shouted, holding the trigger until he ran out of ammo. He cursed as he ducked behind the crate again, practically tearing the magazine out and loading another._

 _The cycle continued, the thugs firing when he ran out of ammo, then ducking when he fired, effectively keeping them pinned, just like Batman had ordered. Eventually the thugs ran out of ammo completely, with no access to a shipment of magazines like Robin, who darted out of cover, aiming the gun at the thugs. They raised their hands over their heads, surrendering, and Robin grinned._

 _"Robin!" Robin turned to look at his mentor, who's face was frozen in a look of shock and horror. Robin's grin fell, as Batman's face shifted from horror to anger. He advanced towards the thugs in silence, binding their hands with batcuffs and kicking their weapons away from them. Robin put the gun in his hands at his feet, out of reach of any of the thugs, readying himself for the rebuke to come._

 _As police sirens flashed outside, Batman grapnelled to a nearby roof, Robin following him. Jason's feet were barely on the rooftop when Bruce started chastising him._

 _"You used a gun. You broke one of the few rules I gave you, and used a gun." His face was stony, and his voice was hard. Jason cringed, but argued all the same._

 _"You told me to hold them off! I did!" A bat-glare was levelled at him, but he maintained his defiant stance._

 _"There were at least twelve ways to hold them off without resorting to firearms. Nightwing would have used one and-" Jason cut Bruce off, anger flooding his voice and swamping any shame._

 _"I am not Nightwing!" Venom could be heard in every syllable, enough venom that Bruce was slightly taken aback, but still able to respond._

 _"Regardless, you could have easily killed one of them."_

 _"But I didn't! And besides, they were arms dealing, drug peddling scumbags! Why should I care if they get hurt!" He retorted, clenching his fists in rage._

 _"Because if you don't, you are no better than them. I'm benching you. Two months." Was Bruce's reply. Jason trembled with rage, grinding his teeth as he glared at Bruce._

 _"And how long would you have benched your Golden Boy?" He snarled, before grappling over to another building, in the vague direction of one of the Batcave's entrances, leaving Bruce to sigh in exasperation, as he placed a call._

 _"Nightwing. Robin is benched for two months. Change your schedule accordingly."_

 **Author's Note: There's only going to be one more happy flashback. The rest are going to be a lot more like this one.**


	9. Aggressive Persuasion

**Would you mind explaining...**  
 **Why you allow criminals to live?**  
 **Allowing them to continue...**  
 **To live and breath and kill...**  
 **Because of you...**  
 **Thousands, millions, all die...**  
 **Because you want to keep those fucking hands clean.**

 **The Batcave**  
 **January 1, 15:48, 2016**  
"Explain. Now." Batman practically growled, and Tim flinched, as Alfred stitched the gunshot closed. The bullet had gone straight through, fortunately, but the wound still hurt like all hell.

"Red Hood threatened Steph. He wanted me to fight him. He was trying to see how good I was." Tim replied, wincing as Batman glared at him fully. He had been reckless, he knew. He had also been lucky that the Red Hood hadn't killed him. And he knew why Bruce was pissed at him. He had acted like Jason.

"Why didn't you report it?" Batman asked, the glare still in full effect.

"Because he would have killed Steph. And you don't report everything to the League. Like the theft?" Tim accused, knowing he was pushing his luck.

"Batcave security is not a League priority." Batman replied, turning to the monitor and pulling up the file on the Red Hood.

"But the Red Hood is. And you and I both know he stole it. It's how he got Kryptonite bullets, and a Kryptonite knife." Tim retorted.

"Kryptonite knife, Master Tim?" Alfred interjected, diffusing the situation with an ease that could only come from years of practice.

"He showed me. Tried to stab me with it. Smaller single-sided knife, glowing green outside edge, sheathed in his jacket." Tim informed, as Bruce added the information to the already lengthy file on the ruthless vigilante.

 **Gotham Warehouse**  
 **January 2, 23:14**  
"The hell you say? You didn't set this up? Then who's party is this?!" One of the drug dealers demanded, standing up with his bodyguard behind him, looking around the round table at the other dealers.

"I thought it was you East Side losers. You already rolled over for the Black Mask, and I figured you were gonna ask us in." A well dressed dealer replied, a pale scarf hanging from the back of his neck.

"Rolled over? The Mask wiped out six of my crew in a month. Six! Some of my best people." An obese dealer replied angrily.

"So you set up this meet?" A blonde dealer asked, but his obese fellow simply shook his head.

"Nah, I thought it was Chinchi." He replied, and the dealers all turned to a bandana and shades wearing dealer.

"Wasn't my meet." He said simply, prompting the well dressed one to stand up.

"To hell with this. I'm going. You brain donors wanna hang around and-" But a mechanical voice interrupted him.

"Sit down, Freddie." The voice was calm, but there was a hint of malice to it. The dealers looked up, seeing a shadow on one of the platforms. "It's my meeting."

The dealers all stood up, one of them saying in a panicked voice, "It's him!" Another asked worriedly "Batman?!"

"We didn't do nothing!" The obese dealer shouted, and the shadow laughed as he stepped forward.

"Well, we both know that's a fucking lie." The shadow was revealed to be a leather-jacketed and armored youth in a red helmet, a rifle in hand and angled upward. The dealers drew their weapons, the bodyguards stepping in front of them.

"Who the hell are you?!" One demanded, while another shouted, "Smoke 'im!" Before any of the dealers could pull a trigger, the rifle tilted down and bullets sprayed towards them, two bodyguards collapsing with holes in their chest and head. The dealers dove away from the hail of fire, some crawling away, some covering their heads.

"I said sit down!" The mechanical voice shouted as the dealers got to their feet.

"You wanna die?! There's easier ways to kill yourself!" The well dressed dealer shouted, panic still obvious in his voice. The youth simply snorted in amusement.

"Yeah, like yelling at the guy who's holding the AK-47." The rifle was moved up again, as the youth leaned on a railing. "Listen to me you drug-peddling scumbags. I will be running the drug trade from now on. You eight are the most prosperous street dealers in Gotham. I'm offering you fucktards a deal." The dealers were all staring at the youth, some of them smirking in poorly-veiled amusement.

"You go about your business as usual, but kick up forty percent to me. That's a much sweeter deal than the shitty scraps Black Mask is leaving you." The youth continued. "In return you will have total protection from both Black Mask and the Batman. But you stay away from kids and schoolyards. No dealing to children, got it! If you do...you're fucking dead."

"Okay crazy man, this is all very generous. But why the hell should we listen to you?" The blonde dealer asked, smug arrogance laced in his voice. In response, the youth threw a duffel bag on the table, and the dealers all turned towards it.

The blonde dealer stepped forward and opened it, a rotting stench emanating from the opening. The dealers looked in, and the bandana-wearing one turned to the side and vomited. The sight was revolting, a collection of eight heads, blood coating all of them, some looking as though they had been cut off in the middle of screaming.

"Damn." The obese dealer said, used to seeing things like this.

"Those are the heads of all your lieutenants." The youth said, redirecting their attention back to him. "That took me two fucking hours. You wanna see what I can get done in a whole evening?" The youth laughed, readying the rifle again and pointing it at them.

"Make no mistake. I'm not asking you to kick in with me. I'm telling you." He opened fire again, the bullets ripping through the table and the bag, spreading blood and brain matter all over the round wooden surface, the dealers ducking down again. When they looked up, the youth had vanished.

"Forty percent works for me."

 _ **Mount Justice**_  
 _ **July 24, 9:46, 2011**_  
 _"He did what?!" Wally shouted, disbelief etched into his voice and face. The other members of the Team had similar reactions, not willing to think that Robin almost killed someone._

 _"He used a gun, opened fire on some thugs. One got hit. Almost bled to death. Robin's being benched for two months because of it." Nightwing replied, obviously tired._

 _"No way. Robin might be a bit rough around the edges, but he wouldn't do something like that." Artemis said, a skeptical eyebrow raised as she stared at Nightwing._

 _"Batman said he did. He found Robin pointing the gun at the thugs. I didn't want to believe it either, but I trust Batman." Nightwing responded, before turning back to the monitor, opening various criminal files as the Team dispersed._

 _ **Wayne Manor**_  
 _ **July 24, 9:47**_  
 _Jason Todd sat on his bed, head buried between his knees, arms wrapped around his legs. He was angry, at himself, at Bruce, at Dick, at the fucking world. He had done what he had to. Used the resources on hand. And he hadn't killed any of them. So what was the fucking problem?_

 _He wouldn't have benched Dick...The thought wormed it's way through his mind, trailing venom with it. Because Dick Grayson was the Golden Boy, and Jason Todd was the black sheep. The outcast. The misfit. Was it his fault, that he was angry at the world? He had seen people die before. Hookers who didn't perform to their scumbag pimp's standards. Random people getting mugged because they looked like they had money. Gang members who picked the wrong person to follow._

 _He didn't like the rules, the constricting and restraining rules. It felt like they were trying to suffocate him. It didn't matter how he did it, right? All that mattered was that he did it. And who the fuck cared about some thugs that were selling off a super-steroid that had killed people before? They were scumbags, Bane was a scumbag. The world would be better if they were dead. Venom supply lines would dry up, no more screwed up, Venom addled and rage fuelled homeless men wandering the streets._

 _The world would be better if they died..._

 _ **The Batcave**_  
 _ **July 24, 9:48**_  
 _Bruce Wayne sat in his chair, seated before the large monitor, idly flipping through various case files, but not really focussing on any of them. He was distracted by thoughts of his protege, and his use of a firearm._

 _Had he been too harsh on Jason? He hadn't actually killed anyone. But he had used a gun. Seeing Jason, Robin, gun in hand, aiming it at some thugs and enjoying the whole thing had been something he wished he could unsee. It was a vision of that Dark Place that he tried to avoid. That little voice in the back of his head that told him to kill them all, torture the Joker with everything he had, expose Scarecrow to every ounce of fear toxin he had ever manufactured, put Riddler in a tormenting labyrinth filled with riddles that had no solution._

 _He couldn't go to that Dark Place, and he had to keep Jason away from it too. He had only really worried about Dick going there when he had first started, angry that the world had seen fit to remove his parents. He had mellowed after taking his revenge, locking up the mastermind behind the extortion of the circus. But Jason? Jason_ was _rage, and passion. He had lived through a kind of hell Dick and Bruce would never know. He had survived the purgatory of Crime Alley. He had seen the absolute worst of humanity._

 _He shouldn't have been so hard on his young ward. The boy couldn't really understand why they didn't kill. Jason Todd didn't have a Dark Place, a segmented and walled off part of his mind that whispered temptations into his ear. Because Jason hadn't been born in the light. He hadn't had a family that loved him. He had a brutish, abusive thug for a father, and a drug-addict sloth for a mother. Jason was a creature of darkness._

 _He shouldn't have been so hard on him._


	10. He Who Fears

**I find it interesting...**  
 **How you chose to remember me...**  
 **Not as a son...**  
 **But as a soldier...**  
 **"Ally and Friend?"**  
 **Really? Is that all I was?**  
 **Just a faceless casualty...**  
 **In a paradoxical war?**

 **Gotham City**  
 **January 5, 8:24, 2016**  
Batman and Nightwing crouched on the edge of the towering building, binoculars in hand, watching the city. The recent upswing in drug trafficking was disturbing, but the drastic reduction in crime in those areas pointed to Red Hood. He had apparently moved from incensing the League to creating the city's biggest drug empire. There was no connection, and the killer hadn't made any big moves against them since taking Tim down. The released Arkham inmates, fortunately including the Joker, had been captured, though Red Hood had only eliminated Mr. Zsasz, Calender Man, and Clock King, while maiming Killer Moth, leading Batman to believe that it had only been a diversion to prevent them from tracking down Zatanna.

"Got anything yet?" Nightwing asked, sweeping the city, Batman doing the same. On his second pass, the Caped Crusader noticed a speeding truck at the docks. The truck was marked Sionis Industries, and the driver looked almost panicked.

"On the docks." Batman said shortly before grapneling across the skyline, easily keeping pace with the truck. Nightwing followed quickly, trying not to fall behind his mentor. When Batman finally got there, he was just in time to land on the hood of the truck, startling the driver. The two passengers brought up their weapons quickly, blindly firing, but Batman dodged the clumsy shots and punched through the windshield, tearing the weapons out of their hands, and throwing them into the crates walling the truck.

"Shit!" The driver shouted, noticing an oncoming crate, slamming the brakes. Batman quickly moved to the back of the truck and leaped off of it as it collided with the crate. Walking over to the driver side door, he practically tore it off the hinges as he opened it, throwing the driver and his only conscious passenger out, and showing slightly more care to the knocked out and likely concussed third passenger.

After quickly tying the three up, Batman grabbed one by his collar and brought his face close to his, growling all the while. He could smell urine from the man, but disregarded it. He needed him terrified.

"Who are you working for?" Batman demanded, but the man only stuttered and shook his head, terror rendering him mute. But he wasn't scared of Batman.

"Who are you WORKING FOR!" Batman shouted, and the man screamed in fear.

"Th-the R-red Hood...he wanted us to steal the Black Mask's shipment..." He said, and Batman dropped him, turning toward the truck. He walked toward it, but quickly turned after hearing three gunshots in rapid succesion. All three of the men were limp, with bullet holes in their foreheads and a laser dot on one of them. Before he could find the shooter, the truck exploded, sending shipping crates flying, and leaving a familiar android in its wake.

"Amazo? The hell?" Nightwing muttered, taking out his escrima after flipping over a shipping crate. The machine turned towards the pair, before its mechanical voice rang out.

"Access: Superman." Bright red lasers tore out of the android's eyes, forcing Batman to dodge left while Nightwing darted right. The lasers cut into the corpses behind the two, leaving behind massive instantly-cauterized wounds. Batman launched explosive batarangs at Amazo, but the robot turned intangible to avoid the weapons.

"Nightwing, distract him." Batman ordered, and his former protege nodded in response before charging the android. Amazo dodged or blocked most of the attacks, before using its lasers once again. Nightwing dove left, launching birdarangs non-stop at the android. The android turned intangible once again, but as it became solid an explosive batarang at its feet exploded, forcing it backwards, and into the grip of Batman, who wrapped an arm around the android's neck and jammed an explosive batarang in its skull before it could turn intangible. The batarang exploded, sending Amazo's head flying.

A shot rang out, and Batman quickly turned, eyes narrowing as he noted the leather jacketed Red Hood holding a long sniper rifle. The killer gave a small wave, before rushing off as the original dynamic duo gave chase.

 _ **Wayne Manor**_  
 _ **July 25, 02:35, 2011**_  
 _A shadowy figure quietly opened his door, glancing down the corridor for anyone else. Opening the door wider, the figure slipped out, gently shutting the door behind him, careful to minimize the noise he made. He didn't want Alfred or worse, Bruce finding him up this late. Then they would wonder what he was doing, which would of course be bad._

 _Putting every bit of ninja training he had recieved to use, the figure crept down to the piano entrance to the Batcave, carefully pressing the keys, waiting about a minute between each, before the entrance opened, revealing a semi-antiquited fireman's pole. The figure slid down quietly, landing almost soundlessly._

 _"Dick wouldn't have made a sound." Bruce's voice briefly filtered through his mind, but he shook his head to get rid of it. Bad enough that Bruce always criticized him in real life, he didn't need his voice in his head too._

 _He crept over to the uniforms, but stilled when he heard quiet snoring. Turning his head, he froze at the sight of Bruce hunched over his computer, asleep. But knowing the Batman, not a heavy sleeper._

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! Was all that ran through his mind as Bruce briefly stirred, before settling. Creeping even more quietly towards the uniforms, the figure got changed as silently as possible, pausing twice as Bruce stirred again. When fully changed, he quickly stowed his clothes in a hiding place, then moved towards his red and yellow motorcycle. Pushing it out the road entrance as silently as possible, the figure waited until the garage closed completely before mounting the vehicle and starting it._

 _Jason drove towards the Scarecrow warehouse without a single look back._

 _ **Scarecrow Warehouse**_  
 _ **July 25, 02:46**_  
 _Robin crouched on the rafters, watching as Scarecrow's goons loaded silver canisters full of glowing orange liquid into a truck. He glared, searching for the Scarecrow himself. He would show them, he was going to prove himself, and then everyone would SHUT THE FUCK UP about the FUCKING GOLDEN BOY! He would fucking show them. Fucking show them all._

 _"Gentlemen. I believe we have a guest." An eerily calm, slightly mechanical voice rang out in the warehouse, and Robin grinned as he saw his target. Jonathan Crane stood in the center of the warehouse, the burlap covered gas mask over his head, five needles on his right hand, the suit he wore tattered, straw coming out of the tears on the shoulders. His henchman had noticeably paled, some shaking._

 _"W-we do, M-m-mister Scarecrow?" One asked in a stuttering, panicked voice, and the Scarecrow's head turned slightly to face him._

 _"We have a Robin hiding in the rafters, I'm afraid." Scarecrow said, before turning and looking right at Robin's hiding place._

 _"I wonder if he will grace us with his presence?" Jason dove, letting his cape catch the air, much like Batman would._

 _"Hi there, fuckers!" Jason laughed, as the thugs raised their guns and opened fire. Jason dodged the bullets, taking out each of the thugs, with various punches and kicks, leaving only Scarecrow._

 _"Alright Crane, let's do this!" Robin taunted, getting into a fighting stance, but was halted by Crane's unnerving laughter._

 _"I'm afraid Jonny-boy isn't here at the moment. There is no Crane." Scarecrow spoke, his voice somehow more menacing than usual, before lifting up the hand that didn't have the needles._  
 _"Only_ _ **Scarecrow.**_ _" A pale orange mist sprayed into Jason's face, forcing him to cough and sputter, Scarecrow's voice already changing, becoming demonic and twisted. Jason looked around, and he saw the faces of the League, the Team, all wearing stony and displeased expressions._

 _ **"Tell me what you see."**_ _Scarecrow growled, the burlap of his mask twisting into a monstrous form, sometimes like Batman's cowl, others like Nightwing's face, still others like his father with his expression of fury, or his mother, glassy eyed and hollow. Jason backed away, as shadowy forms started advancing, some with leers, some with sadistic grins._

 _"You don't deserve to be Robin!" Nightwing's voice, distorted and monstrous, roared out._  
 _"We never should have met." Batman growled, as "You filthy street rat" was heard from Artemis._  
 _"At least Dick never fucked up like you did!" "You're a failure!" "You should never come back!" All tore into him, in the voices of his friends, his family._  
 _"You'll never be as good as Dick." Batman said again, while "You're half the Robin I was!" came from Nightwing's voice. "You were always a mistake!" His father spoke, and Jason clutched his head tightly, closing his eyes to try and block out the cold expressions from his friends._

 _ **"You want us to kill him, Mister Scarecrow?"**_ _A distorted voice said, but Jason was too lost in the fear toxin to fully realise what was being said._

 _ **"No. We're already behind schedule. Leave him. Maybe he'll overdose from the toxin."**_ _Scarecrow laughed, as Jason curled up into the fetal position, rocking back and forth with tears streaming down his face._

 _ **"I never should have adopted you."**_ _Bruce's voice rang in his head, as he tried desperately to fall unconscious._

 _"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Please, oh god shut up. Please, shut the fuck up. Shut the fucking fuck up you motherfuckers." He muttered, closing his eyes and bringing his hands tight over his ears. But the voices still rang in his head._

 _ **Scarecrow Warehouse**_  
 _ **July 25, 04:52**_  
 _When the fear toxin finally wore off, Jason's body was wracked by sobs that he desperately tried to muffle, still rocking back and forth. The hallucinations had stopped, but he could still remember with perfect clarity every single word._

 _He slowly and shakily rose to his unsteady feet, wiping his exposed cheeks as he walked. He found his motorcycle where he had left it outside the warehouse, and he slowly mounted it, keeping his speed fast so he didn't have time to think about what the fear toxin had shown him. He got off just outside the external garage entrance, pushing the bike back to its proper place. He quickly got changed and crept out of the Batcave, falling into bed, desperate to sleep._

 _He fell asleep easily. But the nightmares made sure he didn't sleep again that night._

 **Author's Note: I see Young Justice Scarecrow as a mix of Nolanverse and Arkham, in case I left anyone confused.**


	11. Pursuit

**You know, I've always wondered...**  
 **If I was ever really your son...**  
 **Or if I was just your stand-in...**  
 **Until you found someone better suited to the role.**  
 **Though I guess I know now...**  
 **I know that you were always going to cast me aside...**  
 **Cause why else would I wake up to the League of Shadows...**  
 **And not you.**

 **Gotham City**  
 **January 5, 8:26, 2016**

He ran, tossing the sniper rifle away, laughing as Nightwing and Batman chased after him. He ducked under a thrown batarang, his stride never breaking as he rushed towards the city proper, his grapple lashing out at the nearest building, carrying him upwards with his two pursuers following rapidly.

As soon as his feet hit the building's roof, he was sprinting away, hearing the boots of the pair behind him. As he neared the edge, the sound of a grapple was his only warning as a black rope wrapped around his ankle. He leaped, spun, drew his blade and cut the rope, just as it went aut.

"Nice try!" He called out, as he swung to another building. He rolled into a sprint when he landed, the duo right behind him, as he spun and launched a trio of shurikens at his pursuers.

The pair deftly avoided his attack, slowly closing the distance, before the Red Hood suddenly stopped, rolling between the two and opening fire with his guns. The duo dodged his shots, Batman launching a batarang while Nightwing drew his escrima and charged.

Red Hood ducked under the batarang, knocking Nightwing's strike aside with his gun, then kicking out at the former Robin's knee. Nightwing dodged as Batman joined the fight with a right hook aimed at the criminal's head. Red Hood tried to dodge, but didn't manage to fully avoid the strike, taking the punch to his shoulder.

He grunted in pain, rolling with the forceful strike and using that to break away from the melee. The dynamic duo stood facing him, ready for another round.

"You haven't lost your touch!" The Red Hood jeered, holstering his pistols, his stance relaxed and nonchalant, standing on the edge of the building. Batman and Nightwing waited for him to make the first move, but he surprised them by leaping backwards and off the edge.

They dashed after him, but there seemed to be no sign of him, until the sound of a grapple line shooting out greeted them. The Red Hood shot up behind them, spinning his body into a roundhouse kick that connected with Nightwing's head. The impact knocked him off the edge and left him dazed, unable to draw his grapnel.

"Better go after him. Don't wanna lose two Boy Wonders." Red Hood taunted, Batman gritting his teeth before leaping off the edge after his protege, Red Hood's laughter echoing after him.

By the time Batman grabbed Nightwing and reeled back up to the roof, the Red Hood was gone, his haunting, barking laugh ringing in Batman's ears.

 _ **Wayne Manor**_  
 _ **July 29, 12:37, 2011**_

 _When Jason got out of bed, he knew he looked like absolute shit. But he couldn't bring himself to care, not with the words of the fear toxin still engrained in his mind. The rational side of him knew that it was only the toxin, bringing his terror of rejection to the forefront, but he couldn't help the ache they caused._

 _All of his fears, his insecurities, had been dredged up to the surface, and he couldn't just ignore that. And with those fears and insecurities came the resentment, the rage, the familiar black tendrils worming their way through his heart, and he couldn't even vent it on some filthy scumbags because he was fucking suspended._

" _Fuck." He spat as he found his way to the dining room doorway, pausing as he heard loud laughter coming from the room. He carefully peered in, seeing Bruce and Dick and Alfred and even fucking Barbara sitting, smiling, enjoying their goddamn breakfast. All without him._

 _His fists clenched. He had never really seen Bruce smile at him. But there he was, laughing with the rest of them. With the Golden Boy. The real Robin. The one he really wanted wearing the "R."_

 _And as he looked at Barbara, there was a brief flash of angry green eyes and "you'll never be Dick Grayson." He hadn't seen much of Batgirl, as she made sure that she was never in the Cave at the same time as him, and she was extremely against working with him in Gotham. Yet here she was, happy because Jason wasn't there and Dick fucking Grayson was._

 _He felt a flash of white-hot rage surging through him, because he would never be Dick Grayson, he knew that, but he wished that he could, for once, be seen as Jason Todd, not the replacement Robin, not the charity case ward of Bruce Wayne._

 _Jason walked away, back to his bedroom, alone._

 **Author's Note: And I make a glorious return. I would like to apologize for the stupidly long wait, especially since I doubt this chapter lived up to any expectations, and I'm not exactly proud of it. Just need to get through the middle stretch, then we can get into what I've been most looking forward to; introducing the Joker.**


	12. The Man Who Laughs

**Death is permanent…**  
 **Or it should be…**  
 **But I suppose…**  
 **I've always been a fan of breaking the rules…**  
 **Even the rules of nature…**  
 **So what does that say about me?**  
 **Maybe that I'm…**  
 **A walking, talking, breathing violation…**  
 **Of the most fundamental law of humanity.**

 **Arkham Asylum**  
 **January 8, 20:21, 2016**

The howling laughter echoed through the halls of the Asylum, the sounds of madness not fazing the guards, desensitized to it as they were. Inside a cell, down staircase after staircase, came the source of the laughter. The hanging light was dim and flickering, leaving the straightjacketed, sitting figure shadowed, while emphasizing the harsh lines of Batman's cowl.

"You look good. Been working out? You know, you could probably use a little sun. But then again, who am I to talk?" The Joker giggled in dark amusement, the two men opposite him staying silent. As the laughter faded, Batman placed a photo on the table, showing the man in the red helmet that had been evading the League at every turn.

"He's calling himself the Red Hood. What do you know about it?" Batman asked as the Joker glanced at the image.

"Heh. That he had horrible taste. When I wore that number, it was classy. More...flashy maitre de than motorcycle fetishist. Kids today, don't know the first thing about style."

"If you're behind this, we will find out. You're not-" Nightwing began, before the Joker cut him off.

"Oh, Bird Boy, you're so much less fun now! All grown-up and boring. Still, better off than his replacement, right? Even tougher making with the yuks when you're wormfood." Batman's eyes narrowed as he suddenly reached forward and grabbed the Joker by the throat, pinning him against a nearby wall with his teeth bared, even as the Joker only smiled wider. Batman squeezed, only seeing Jason's bloodied and broken body as he strangled the Joker.

"You gonna really do it this time," Joker began, his voice tight and rasping, yet still he smiled. "Or are you just gonna put me in another body cast for six months?" Batman's grip briefly tightened, before dropping the Joker and stepping back as the madman chuckled.

"So...disappointing. But, back to the matter at hand. This new Hoodie. You really think I'd kill so many people, hurt you and your little Justice League so deeply, and just...not take credit for it? And here I thought you knew me." Joker's chuckles turned into full-blown laughter, as Batman and Nightwing stepped out of the cell, and into the Gotham night.

 **Sionis Building**  
 **January 8, 20:42**  
Roman Sionis was having a bad day. He had a headache, his employees were completely incompetent, a new bodyguard was joining the ranks that would probably stare at the mask, and to top it all off, almost every single one of his dealers was now kicking up to some new guy, instead of him. It was enough to make him want to roll up his sleeves and beat the living shit out of some random people.

So yes. Today was a very bad day. But at least he knew that wherever that damn Red Hood was, his day was about to get much, much worse. And as he passed the briefcase full of money over to the four assassins, he grinned. Oh yes. Red Hood was about to wish he'd never fucked with the Black _fucking_ Mask.

 _ **Gotham City**_  
 _ **October 9, 19:01, 2011**_  
 _Jason felt the bones crunching under his fists, the blood staining his gloves, felt his bones straining under the sheer force he was subjecting them to. He idly realised that the scumbag's face would probably be permanently disfigured when he healed...if he healed. Bruce was dealing with some of the pimp's enforcers outside, probably because the five men were heavy-set and well-armed, while the pimp was scraggly and emaciated._

 _Jason was vaguely aware of the prostitute whimpering in front of him, as he beat her pimp into pulp, the knife that had almost cut her throat lying uselessly on the dirty ground. But she wasn't stopping him. Nothing was stopping him. The pimp had stopped struggling, blood and bone and cartilage crunching under his fists. He lifted his fist one final time, ready to cave the filth's face in, but was suddenly thrown to the side._

 _The red haze over his eyes cleared to see the looming shadow of Batman towering over him, and the nightmares brought on by Scarecrow's toxin found themselves at the forefront of his mind. Batman was glowering at him, bat-glare in full effect, the pimp curled up into the fetal position at his feet, barely-conscious._

" _Robin. Outside. Now." Batman growled, making sure the pimp was still alive, before quickly making his way out the window. Jason sat there for a moment, staring at the blood on his gloves, the red soaking into the green, stains seeping into the fabric as his hands curled into fists. He stood up, briefly checking on the prostitute before following his mentor._

" _Hell did I do this time?" Jason demanded, feigning ignorance. He knew what he had done "wrong," but he couldn't bring himself to care. The man was a pimp and a scumbag and a drug dealer who had raped and killed countless women. He wasn't going to apologise for inflicting a fucking fraction of the suffering that the dirtbag had given._

" _You're lucky that man isn't dead. Do you understand, Robin? You almost killed him." Batman growled, face seeming to be made of stone as he glared at his ward. Jason glared back._

" _Would it have been such a big loss if I had?" He spat the words like poison, fists clenching tightly, body tensed and itching for a fight. He felt the rage welling up again, not in the least abated by beating the pimp. Part of him was terrified of it, but part of him wanted to embrace it._

 _Batman was silent, his form hidden by his cape, but Jason could still tell his mentor was tensed. The two stared at each other, a silent argument, before Jason finally looked away._

" _Whatever. He deserved it." Jason muttered, before gliding away, back to the Batcave, like he knew Batman wanted._

 _Because he knew: Jason Todd wasn't the Robin anybody wanted._

 **Author's Note: I'm pretty damn proud of this chapter. Got in the Joker interrogation, Black Mask, reintroduction of the Fearsome Hand of Four, and a reference to Batman #422. Gonna get in Felipe Garzonas soon enough, and hopefully find a place for For the Man Who Has Everything, but I can promise nothing.**


	13. Fearsome Hand

**Go ahead…**

 **Send out your child soldiers…**

 **Watch them charge in,** _ **General**_ …

 **And when they fall…**

 **When they die, bleeding and screaming…**

 **In a fiery explosion…**

 **Or maybe from a crowbar…**

 **Just recruit more.**

 **Gotham City**

 **January 10, 18:02, 2016**

Really, it was just pathetic, the way the Fearsome Hand of Four traipsed right on through the city, hunting him and doing a terrible job of it. Hell, Black Mask's goons were doing better than the assassins. He had already saved a few of his dealers, and his gangs were pushing out the invaders. All that was left was to take down the Four, then he could back Mask into a corner, leaving the crime boss just desperate enough to recruit someone completely off their rocker.

Red Hood watched as two of Mask's henchmen beat the shit out of one of his bigger dealers, before lighting a molotov. The pair seemed to be unaware of the Fearsome Hand lurking on the roofs of the ramshackle buildings, waiting to ambush him. Right where he wanted them. He flipped into the alley, one of his bullets shattering the molotov and immolating the guy holding it, while another went into the skull of his buddy. Watching his dealer quickly dash away, Red Hood turned and holstered his guns, pulling out his knife and watching as the Fearsome Hand surrounded him.

"So...how's it going?" Red Hood joked, before diving out of the way of the hulking fists of the largest member of the Four. He deflected the blades of the leader with his knife, forcing her into the path of the cyclops's eye beam, while he dodged the blows of the staff-wielder. The leader quickly recovered, slashing at him in a whirling frenzy of blades, small cuts starting to adorn his jacket as the big one charged him, the impact jarring enough to break the Red Hood's focus. The big one suddenly stopped, Red Hood's momentum carrying him into the swing of the staff-wielder. Before he could be taken out by the cyclops's eye beam, he managed to turn his body to the left, barely dodging the attack before launching an arc of throwing stars at the big one.

But he just shrugged them off, a fist striking Red Hood in the side and catapulting him into a wall. He barely managed to roll away from the leader's strikes, jumping over the staff-wielder, using his shoulders as a vantage point to fire at the big one. He holstered his guns and leaped off when the cyclops launched another beam, forcing the staff-wielder to stumble, and dove under another strike from the big one, planting a small explosive as he went. The resulting explosion was massive, deafening the Fearsome Hand, and the big one had lost the armor along his entire arm, suit shredded and soaked in blood.

"Oh. That looked painful." Red Hood mocked, watching carefully as the Fearsome Hand of Four charged him. He darted back from the staff-wielder's strike, rolled under the blades of the leader, forced her into the path of the cyclops' beam, then dodged a blow from the big one's good arm. He grinned under the mask, drawing his knife as the staff-wielder recovered, charging him yet again. He ducked under the attack, lashing out with the blade, carving a deep furrow into the man's chest armor and forcing him back. He deflected an attack from the leader, countering the follow-up, then went for a stab. But before he could make contact he was blasted back, the beam from the cyclops sending him flying. He quickly recovered, clutching his burning shoulder as the Hand regrouped.

But before they could attack, a dark figure descended, back to back with Red Hood. Glancing behind him, the vigilante grinned wide at the sight of the black cape and cowl. Chuckling, Hood turned back to the Hand.

"Hell took you so long?" Hood chuckled, Batman remaining as stony as ever.

"Shut up and fight." He muttered, before charging at the Hand, Hood alongside him. The ensuing fight was short but brutal, the Fearsome Hand already struggling to defeat Red Hood, but now they were fighting Red Hood _and_ Batman. The fight was lost before it really began.

The leader fell first, Red Hood deflecting her blows and opening the door for Batman's attacks, and vice versa. Whenever she tried to retreat from the fight, she would be forced back in, before finally being kicked into a wall by Batman, slumping over unconscious.

Next came the big one. At this point, the Hand had recovered from the sudden attack, the cyclops preparing his beam, the staff-wielder charging, the big one right beside him. The vigilantes dodged the beam with ease, Batman leaping over the staff-wielder and Red Hood stabbing him in the side after avoiding the attack, readying himself to block and counter. The big one fell easily to Batman, collapsing to the ground with a single kick to the face.

The staff-wielder was stunned at the sight, and it cost him dearly. Red Hood slashed at him, forcing him on the back foot as he quickly backed away. But Hood was relentless, forcing the staff-wielder to block desperately, nicks and cuts covering the exposed parts of his suit. It finally ended when Red Hood easily ducked under a desperate attack, stepping into his space and delivering a brutal headbutt, shattering the man's nose.

He was about to move to the cyclops before he felt a pair of clawed arms wrap around him, the cyclops' head right next to his, beam fully charged and ready to fire. Batman halted his movements, as did Red Hood.

"Afraid you'll miss?" Red Hood mocked.

"Black Mask just wants a body. Didn't say anything about your head." He growled.

"Let him go." Batman said, taser extended and aimed at the assassin and vigilante.

"A taser? Nail me and you electrocute both of us." The assassin said, placing a claw at Red Hood's throat. He failed to notice a taser slipping from Red Hood's sleeve and into his hand.

"Maybe that's what he has in mind." He muttered, before jamming the taser into the cyclops' helmet. He turned and backed away as the cyclops screamed, sparks pouring out of the helmet as the assassin backed away, before his head exploded. Blood sprayed on the wall behind him as he collapsed, helmet smoking.

"No!" Batman growled, as Red Hood stepped over to the body.

"Just be happy I only killed one. They're all assassins." Red Hood replied, turning towards Batman.

"And what are you?" Batman ground out, hands falling to his utility belt.

"I'm the solution. I'm cleaning up Gotham. More than you ever did or ever will." Red Hood turned away, towards the city, and started to walk.

"You're stealing territory from Black Mask, and killing anyone who gets in your way." Batman retorted.

"Black Mask? Is just a part of the plan." Red Hood glanced back.

"Plan? You're becoming a crime lord, making enemies with the Justice League, torturing innocent people. And this is cleaning up Gotham?"

"Yes!" Red Hood turned back, gesticulating wildly. "You can't stop crime! That's what you and your Justice Buddies never understood. I'm controlling it! Containing it! You wanna rule them by fear, and it works! But what about the ones that aren't afraid? What about the ones that do it _because_ you won't kill them, because to them it's fun? I'm doing what you won't, I'm taking them out!"

"And the Justice League?" Batman asked, the Red Hood's eyes narrowing.

"And the Justice League. All these heroes gathered together, capable of changing the world, bettering the world, _fixing_ the world! And. You. Don't. You just don't. When the bad guys break things, you stop them and throw them in Belle Reve, or Arkham, or Stryker's, then pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. But it's not done! You deal with the symptoms, and _only_ the symptoms, and you think that's all it takes! And you've indoctrinated everyone even associated with the League into that way of thinking, and done it so thoroughly that nothing can ever convince them otherwise! Well I'm sick of that! So I'll tear you down to your very foundations, because maybe then you'll get it! Maybe then you'll realise just how ineffectual you are! And if I have to torture you to get you to see it, so be it! That's what it took to get me to realise it, that's what it'll take to get you to realise it!" Red Hood shouted, fists clenched, teeth grinding together as the rage almost overtook him. Almost. Batman was silent for a while, and for a brief moment Red Hood almost thought he'd convinced him.

"Tell me what happened to you." His eyes widened, then narrowed under the mask. "Let me help." Red Hood growled, fury flooding him.

"Too late for that. You had your chance." Red Hood muttered, sounding sad, before throwing down a smoke bomb.

When the smoke cleared, the Red Hood was gone.


End file.
